Name: Daemonosaurus
(Demon lizard).
Phonetic: Day-mon-o-sore-us.
Named By: Hans-Dieter Sues et al - 2011.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda.
Species: D. chauliodus (type).
Type: Carnivore.
Size: Estimated at 1.5 meters long.
Known locations: USA, New Mexico, Chinle Formation,
Ghost Ranch quarry.
Time period: Norian of the Triassic.
Fossil representation: A skull, ribs and vertebrae.
Daemonosaurus
has a distinguished skull that is unlike any other dinosaur currently
known from the time. The upper teeth are mounted in a short snout and
protrude forwards from the tip. This is mirrored in the lower jaw and
was the inspiration for the type species name D. chauliodus
that
loosely translated means 'buck toothed'.
Interestingly,
another
dinosaur named Chindesaurus has been found in the
same formation as
Daemonosaurus but is only known from the post
cranial skeleton.
Daemonosaurus on the other hand is only known from
its skull, a few
vertebrae and ribs. This has led to the interesting question of are
Chindesaurus and Daemonosaurus
one and the same? Without further
evidence from more complete specimens the answer cannot be known.
Further reading
- A late-surviving basal theropod dinosaur from the latest Triassic of
North America. - Proceedings of the Royal Society B 278:3459-3464. -
H.-D. Sues, S. J. Nesbitt, D. S. Berman & A. C. Henrici - 2011.
- The osteology of the early-diverging dinosaur Daemonosaurus
chauliodus (Archosauria: Dinosauria) from the Coelophysis
Quarry
(Triassic: Rhaetian) of New Mexico and its relationships to other early
dinosaurs. - Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. - Sterling J.
Nesbitt & Hans-Dieter Sues - 2020.