Compsosaurus Explained

Compsosaurus (meaning "elegant lizard"^[1]) is an extinct genus of phytosaur, a crocodile-like reptile that lived during the Triassic. Its fossils have been found in North Carolina. The type species, Compsosaurus priscus, was named by American paleontologist Joseph Leidy in 1856,^[2] although other sources say 1857.^{[3] [4] [5]} Compsosaurus may have been the same animal as the related Belodon.

Only four teeth are known, discovered in the Carnian-Rhaetian-aged coal fields of Chatham County, North Carolina (probably Red Sandstone Formation) and the New Oxford Formation of Pennsylvania.^[6]

Notes and References

1. https://web.archive.org/web/20070328204157/http://www.dinosauria.com/dml/names/phyto.htm Phytosauria Translation and Pronunciation Guide
2. [Joseph Leidy|Leidy. J.]
3. https://www.gbif.org/species/162883756 Compsosaurus
4. Rees, T. (compiler) (2020). The Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera. Available from http://www.irmng.org at VLIZ. Accessed 2020-03-24
5. GBIF Secretariat (2019). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2020-07-15.
6. http://www.paleofile.com/Pseudosuchia/Compsosaurus.asp Compsosaurus