Named By: | J. D. Harris, S. G. Lucas, J. W. Estep & J. Li in 2000 |
Time Period: | Early Jurassic |
Location: | China - Lufeng Formation |
Size: | Holotype skull 71.4 millimetres long |
Diet: | Herbivore/Ominvore |
Fossil(s): | Partial skull and jaws |
Classification: | | Chordata | Reptilia | Diapsida | Archosauria | Crocodylomorpha | Sphenosuchia | |
Phyllodontosuchus (Ancient Greek, meaning "leaf tooth crocodile", in reference to the shape of the middle and posterior teeth) is a genus of sphenosuchian, a type of basal crocodylomorph, the clade that comprises the crocodilians and their closest kin. It is known from a skull and jaws from Lower Jurassic rocks of Yunnan, China. Phyllodontosuchus is unusual because some of its teeth were leaf-shaped, like those of some herbivorous dinosaurs, and it does not appear to have been a strict carnivore like most other crocodylomorphs.