Paraplacodus
Extinct genus of reptiles
title: "Paraplacodus" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["placodontia", "sauropterygian-genera", "middle-triassic-reptiles-of-europe", "aquatic-reptiles", "anisian-life"] description: "Extinct genus of reptiles" topic_path: "general/placodontia" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraplacodus" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Extinct genus of reptiles ::
| fossil_range = Middle Triassic | image = Paraplacodus broili 1.JPG | image_upright = 1.2 | image_caption = Fossil skull | taxon = Paraplacodus | authority = Peyer, 1931 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = * P. broilii Peyer, 1931 (type)
Paraplacodus broilii is an extinct placodont sauropterygian from the Middle Triassic epoch, from the Anisian until Ladinian stages. The fossils were uncovered in Northern Italy and the species was named in 1931 by Bernhard Peyer. Paraplacodus means "Almost Placodus", in reference to its similarity to Placodus. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Paraplacodus_BW.jpg" caption="Restoration"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Paraplacodus_broili_2.JPG" caption="''Paraplacodus broilii'' fossil"] ::
Most known placodont species can be divided into two groups - the unarmored placodontoids, which would resemble a large, scaly, tooth-filled newt, or the armored cyamodontids, which would resemble a heavily armored turtle; Paraplacodus belonged to the former family. It was a small reptile, measuring about 1.5 m in total body length.
The jaws of Paraplacodus were adapted to eat shellfish, with three pairs of protruding teeth in the top row and two rows of protruding teeth in the front of the jaw, with rounded crushing teeth in the upper and lower jaws. Thick ribs formed a box-like ribcage with an almost-square cross-section, which enabled Paraplacodus to remain close to the seabed while hunting for food.
Palaeoecology
Like the majority of described placodonts, Paraplacodus was an aquatic reptile that fed on shellfish, though recent research suggests its diet was broader and not solely composed of hard-shelled organisms. Its specialised anterior teeth suggest that it would have fed on small, raspberry-shaped macroalgae.
References
References
- (2019). "Mesozoic Sea Dragons: Triassic Marine Life from the Ancient Tropical Lagoon of Monte San Giorgio". Indiana University Press.
- (5 February 2024). "Complex dental wear analysis reveals dietary shift in Triassic placodonts (Sauropsida, Sauropterygia)". [[Swiss Journal of Palaeontology]].
- (15 January 2010). "Palaeoecology of Placodus gigas (Reptilia) and other placodontids — Middle Triassic macroalgae feeders in the Germanic Basin of central Europe — and evidence for convergent evolution with Sirenia". [[Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology]].
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