Hypsognathus Explained

Hypsognathus (from Greek, Modern (1453-);: ῠ̔́ψος, 'height' and Greek, Modern (1453-);: γνάθος, 'jaw') is an extinct genus of procolophonid parareptile from the Late Triassic of New Jersey, Connecticut, and Nova Scotia.^[1]

Hypsognathus resembled a moderately sized lizard, with a length of 33cm (13inches), although it was unrelated to modern lizards.Because of its broad teeth, Hypsognathus is thought to have been a herbivore. Its body is low and broad and it has a relatively short tail. Hypsognathus has some spikes on the side of its head, probably for protection against predators.^[2]

Multiple specimens from the Magnesian Conglomerate of England that were discovered during the 1970s by Jeanne Evans were initially referred to cf. Hypsognathus in 2016^[3] before being moved to a separate species, Hwiccewyrm trispiculum in 2023.^[4]

Notes and References

1. Sues, H.-D.,Olsen, P.E., Scott,D.M, and Spencer, P.S. (2000). "Cranial Osteology of Hypsognathus fenneri, a Latest Triassic Procolophonid Reptile from the Newark Supergroup of Eastern North America" Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 20(2):275-284.
2. Book: Palmer, D.. 1999 . The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. Marshall Editions. London. 63. 1-84028-152-9.
3. Whiteside, D. I., Duffin, C. J., Gill, P. G., Marshall, J. E. A., & Benton, M. J. (2016). The Late Triassic and Early Jurassic fissure faunas from Bristol and South Wales: Stratigraphy and setting. Palaeontologia Polonica,  67, 257–287.
4. Butler . R. J. . Meade . L. E. . Cleary . T. J. . McWhirter . K. T. . Brown . E. E. . Kemp . T. S. . Benito . J. . Fraser . N. C. . 2023 . Hwiccewyrm trispiculum gen. et sp. nov., a new leptopleuronine procolophonid from the Late Triassic of southwest England . The Anatomical Record . 10.1002/ar.25316 . 37735997. free .