Machaeroprosopus
| Machaeroprosopus Temporal range: Late Triassic |
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| Line drawing of the skull of Machaeroprosopus validus in Mehl et al. (1916) | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Phytosauria |
| Family: | Phytosauridae |
| Node: | †Leptosuchomorpha |
| Subfamily: | †Pseudopalatinae |
| Genus: | †Machaeroprosopus Mehl et al., 1916 |
| Type species | |
| †Machaeroprosopus validus Mehl et al., 1916 |
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Machaeroprosopus is an extinct genus of leptosuchomorph phytosaurid from the Late Triassic of the southwestern United States, considered a nomen dubium or "doubtful name" because of the lack of diagnostic specimens that can support its distinction from other phytosaur genera. The type species M. validus was named in 1916 on the basis of three complete skulls from Arizona. The skulls, the holotype and both paratypes, have been lost since the 1950s, and a line drawing in the original 1916 description is the only visual record of the specimen.[1] Another species, M. andersoni, was named in 1922 from New Mexico, and the species M. adamanensis, M. gregorii, M. lithodendrorum, M. tenuis, and M. zunii were named in 1930. Most species have been reassigned to the genera Smilosuchus,[2] Rutiodon, Pseudopalatus, or Phytosaurus.[3] M. validus is the only species that has not been reassigned, and it is possible that it represents the same species as Pseudopalatus pristinus. If this is the case, the name Machaeroprosopus would have precedence over Pseudopalatus because Pseudopalatus was named in 1928, twelve years after Machaeroprosopus was named.[1]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Parker, Bill (7 February 2007). "The Tragic Tale of Machaeroprosopus and Acompsosaurus". Chinleana. Field of Science. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
- ^ Michelle R. Stocker (2010). "A new taxon of phytosaur (Archosauria: Pseudosuchia) from the Late Triassic (Norian) Sonsela Member (Chinle Formation) in Arizona, and a critical reevaluation of Leptosuchus Case, 1922". Palaeontology 53 (5): 997–1022. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2010.00983.x.
- ^ Gregory, J.T. (1962). "The relationships of the American phytosaur Rutiodon". American Museum Novitates 2095: 1–22.
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