Psephoderma
Psephoderma was a marine reptile that lived in the Late Triassic, about 210 million years ago. It had a flat skull and a shell made of two parts, like a turtle, and used its long snout to dig up shellfish from the seafloor.1
When did it live?
How big was it?
How big was Psephoderma compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
Fun facts
Psephoderma had a long tail, up to about 80 cm (31 inches), covered in bony scutes.1
Its shell was split into two pieces: one over the ribs and another over the pelvis.1
The largest known Psephoderma fossil is 180 cm (5.9 feet) long.3
Its skull had a narrow, straight snout with grooves that led to the nostrils.1
Psephoderma had no teeth at the front of its mouth, only four large crushing teeth on each side of the palate.1
It lived in shallow, oxygen-rich waters near tidal channels, where it fed on shellfish like Modiolus and Isognomon.3
Most asked questions about Psephoderma
?Was Psephoderma a dinosaur?
No, Psephoderma was not a dinosaur. It was a marine reptile called a placodont, which is a type of sauropterygian.1
?How big was Psephoderma?
Psephoderma grew up to 180 centimetres (5.9 feet) long, which is about as long as a bathtub.1
?What did Psephoderma eat?
Psephoderma ate shellfish like Modiolus and Isognomon. It used its long snout to dig them up and crushed them with its large, flat teeth.3
?Could Psephoderma swim?
Yes, Psephoderma could swim. Its shell was streamlined for swimming, and it used its paddle-like limbs to move through the water.3
Ask Rex about Psephoderma
Rex only answers questions about this page. 3 questions a day.
Rex is an AI and can make mistakes. He runs on servers in the EU and questions are never saved. Never type your name or other personal things.
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Psephoderma
- Named by
- von Meyer 18584
- Group
- Other sea reptiles
- Family / clade
- Placochelyida4
- Classification
- Placodontia > Sauropterygia4
- Age of the rocks
- 243 to 201 million years ()4
- Rock formations
- Calcare di Zu, Kössener Schichten, Zorzino Limestone4
- Countries
- Italy, Austria, Israel, United Kingdom4
- Fossil records
- 10 in the Paleobiology Database4
- Also known as
- Placochelyanus (older names now counted as the same animal)4
- Discovery
- Psephoderma was named by German paleontologist Hermann von Meyer in 1858. Fossils have been found in the Alps and England.12
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure if Psephoderma used its shell mainly for defense or for swimming, but some think it was shaped to help it glide through water.3
Where the facts come from
- Psephoderma (en.wikipedia.org)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- FUNCTIONAL MORPHOLOGY AND MODE OF LIFE OF THE LATE TRIASSIC PLACODONT PSEPHODERMA ALPINUM MEYER FROM THE CALCARE DI ZORZINO (LOMBARDY, N ITALY) | RIVISTA ITALIANA DI PALEONTOLOGIA E STRATIGRAFIA (riviste.unimi.it)
- Psephoderma 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.
Rex is hungry! Dino Wiki is a dad's project for his dino-loving son, free with no ads. Grown-ups can feed Rex a snack to help keep it online.Feed Rex
Nothosaurus
Placodus
Lariosaurus
Cyamodus
Cymatosaurus
Proneusticosaurus
Massospondylus
Plateosaurus
Coelophysis
Podokesaurus
Thecodontosaurus
Eudimorphodon