''Sapheosaurus'' is an extinct genus of Late Jurassic sphenodont. Its skull was longer and narrower than that of ''

Homoeosaurus ''Homoeosaurus'' is an extinct genus of rhynchocephalian reptile, known from the Late Jurassic-earliest Cretaceous of Europe, with specimens being reported from France ( Canjuers Lagerstatte), England (Purbeck Group) and Germany ( Solnhofen Lime ...

''. It was classified as a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

sapheosaur Sapheosaurs are an Extinction, extinct group of rhynchocephalian reptiles from the Late Jurassic period. "Sapheosaurs" is an informal name for a group of rhynchocephalians closely related to the genus ''Sapheosaurus''. It was first recognized as ...

Michael Benton Michael James Benton (born 8 April 1956) is a British palaeontologist, and professor of vertebrate paleontology, vertebrate palaeontology in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol. His published work has mostly concentrated on ...

in 1985. It reached a length of 70 cm from snout to tail. ''Sapheosaurus'' belongs to the clade Sapheosauridae, that also includes other taxa like '' Kallimodon''. It is believed to be one of two aquatic sphenodont lineages, with Pleurosauridae being the other.Marc E. H. Jones, Skull shape and feeding strategy in Sphenodon and other Rhynchocephalia (Diapsida: Lepidosauria), Article in Journal of Morphology 269(8):945-66 · August 2008 DOI: 10.1002/jmor.10634 · Source: PubMed Sapheosaurus laticeps Teylers

Species

''Sapheosaurus laticeps'' (also known as '' Piocormus'') differed from ''Sapheosaurus thiollierei'' by its smaller size and more

vertebra Each vertebra (: vertebrae) is an irregular bone with a complex structure composed of bone and some hyaline cartilage, that make up the vertebral column or spine, of vertebrates. The proportions of the vertebrae differ according to their spina ...

e. ''S. thiollierei'' had 22 back and neck vertebrae, while ''S. laticeps'' had 26. Also, the two differ in relative limb length. ''S. laticeps'' lived in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

References

Rhynchocephalia Extinct animals of Europe Prehistoric reptile genera {{paleo-reptile-stub