Acutodon (lit. ‘sharp, pointed teeth‘) is an extinct genus of shinisaurian lizard that lived in France during the Late Cretaceous (lower Campanian age). The genus contains a single species, Acutodon villeveyracensis, known from a partial maxilla (upper tooth-bearing bone). Acutodon lived in freshwater subtropical environments.[2]
Description
It is characterized by its long, tapering teeth, which suggest a diet of small fish and amphibians. This is comparable to the modern Chinese crocodile lizard (Shinisaurus crocodilurus).[2]
Phylogeny
Acutodon is a Pan-Shinisauria, a clade of Anguimorph lizards that contains genera such as Merkurosaurus from the Czech Republic.[3] The closest living relative to Acutodon is the Chinese crocodile lizard. The evolutionary history of this clade is poorly known with few fossils being found. This genus fills in a gap in the fossil record of Pan-Shinisaurids.[2]
References
- ^ Jansen, Olivier; Garcia, Géraldine; Otero, Olga; Augé, Marc; Gomez, Bernard; Valentin, Xavier (2026-01-27). “Freshwater amphibians and squamates from Villeveyrac (lower Campanian; Hérault, France): palaeodiversity, palaeoenvironment and implications for the Late Cretaceous palaeobiogeography of the European herpetofauna”. Papers in Palaeontology. 12 (1). doi:10.1002/spp2.70055. ISSN 2056-2799.
- ^ a b c Jansen, Olivier; Augé, Marc; Garcia, Geraldine; Otero, Olga; Valentin, Xavier (2026-05-20). “A new pan-shinisaur lizard (Anguimorpha) from the lower Campanian of Villeveyrac (Hérault, France)”. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology e2636649. doi:10.1080/02724634.2026.2636649. ISSN 0272-4634.
- ^ Klembara, Jozef. (2008). A new anguimorph lizard from the Lower Miocene of North-West Bohemia, Czech Republic. Palaeontology. 51. 81 – 94. 10.1111/j.1475-4983.2007.00732.x.
