May 10, 2016

The skulls of Atopodentatus Unicus found in 2016 (Image W. Gao, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology)

An article published in the journal “Science Advances” describes the analysis of fossils of Atopodentatus unicus, a reptile that lived in the mid-Triassic period, between 247 and 242 million years ago. Recent discoveries of two fossil skulls forced palaeontologists to rethink the idea they had made of this animal and now they consider it the most ancient herbivore marine reptile discovered so far.