Dino card No. 1376 of 2,027

Paraplacodus

Say it: PAIR-uh-PLAK-oh-dus

Name means: “near Placodus”1

Ate: MeatSea reptilesMiddle TriassicNot technically a dinosaur

Paraplacodus was a small marine reptile that lived in the sea during the Middle Triassic, about 247 to 237 million years ago. It looked a bit like a scaly newt and used its special teeth to crunch shellfish on the seabed.2 3

Fun fact: this sea reptile swam while dinosaurs walked on land. Everyone calls them dinos, but they were a different branch of reptiles.

Lived

247 to 237 million years ago3

Middle Triassic

Fossils found in

Northern Italy and Switzerland, including Monte San Giorgio2 1

Food

Meat2

Length

1.5 m2

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

as long as 3 house cats nose to tailas long as 8 bananas end to end

How big was Paraplacodus compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

cool stuff

Fun facts

Paraplacodus had three pairs of protruding teeth in the top jaw and two rows in the front, perfect for grabbing shellfish.2

Its thick ribs formed a box-like ribcage with an almost square cross-section, helping it stay near the seabed while hunting.2

It belonged to a group called placodonts, and most were either unarmored like a newt or heavily armored like a turtle. Paraplacodus was unarmored.2

Recent research suggests Paraplacodus did not only eat hard-shelled animals, but also small, raspberry-shaped macroalgae.2

The name Paraplacodus means 'near Placodus', because it looked similar to another placodont called Placodus.2

AI-made picture of Paraplacodus — An AI-made picture of how Paraplacodus might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Paraplacodus

?How big was Paraplacodus?

It was a small reptile, measuring about 1.5 metres (4.9 feet) in total body length.2

?What did Paraplacodus eat?

It mostly ate shellfish, using its front teeth to pick them up and back teeth to crush their shells. Recent research also suggests it ate small, raspberry-shaped macroalgae.2

?Was Paraplacodus a dinosaur?

No, it was a marine reptile called a placodont sauropterygian, not a dinosaur.2

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Paraplacodus
Named by: Peyer 19313
Group: Sea reptiles
Family / clade: Paraplacodontidae3
Classification: Placodontia > Sauropterygia3
Age of the rocks: 247 to 237 million years ()3
Rock formations: Braies, Besano3
Countries: Italy, Switzerland3
Fossil records: 2 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Paraplacodus was named in 1931 by Bernhard Peyer, based on fossils found in Northern Italy and Switzerland.2 1
Still debated: Scientists still debate whether Paraplacodus ate only shellfish or also plants like algae.2

Where the facts come from

Untitled Document (paleofile.com)
Paraplacodus (en.wikipedia.org)
Paraplacodus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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