In Depth
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.
