In Depth
Known form a small partial skull that was initially thought to belong to the genus Bernissartia, Koumpiodontosuchus was established as a distinct genus in 2015. Koumpiodontosuchus means ‘button toothed crocodile’, a reference to the small teeth seen in the skull. These show that as well as being small itself, Koumpiodontosuchus was a predator of small animals. The observations that the teeth at the back of the mouth were rounded may indicate that Koumpiodontosuchus might have eaten shelled animals such as bivalve molluscs.
Further Reading
- A new bernissartiid crocodyliform from the Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation (Wealden Group, Barremian) of the Isle of Wight, southern England. - Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 60(2):257-268. - S. C. Sweetman, U. Pedreira-Segade & S. U. Vidovic - 2015.
