Terastiodontosaurus
| Terastiodontosaurus Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Clade: | Amphisbaenia |
| Family: | Trogonophidae |
| Genus: | †Terastiodontosaurus Georgalis et al., 2024 |
| Species: | †T. marcelosanchezi
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Terastiodontosaurus marcelosanchezi Georgalis et al., 2024
| |
Terastiodontosaurus is an extinct genus of trogonophid worm lizard. Its only known species Terastiodontosaurus marcelosanchezi lived in Tunisia during the Lutetian stage of the Eocene epoch.[1]
Palaeobiology
Palaeoecology
The extremely thick enamel of Terastiodontosaurus marcelosanchezi indicates that its teeth were capable of withstanding very high stresses, likely indicating that T. marcelosanchezi was durophagous and could crush and consume a wide variety of snails.[2]
References
- ^ "PBDB Taxon". Retrieved 13 January 2026.
- ^ Georgalis, Georgios L.; Smith, Krister T.; Marivaux, Laurent; Herrel, Anthony; Essid, El Mabrouk; Khayati Ammar, Hayet; Marzougui, Wissem; Temani, Rim; Tabuce, Rodolphe (21 November 2024). "The world's largest worm lizard: a new giant trogonophid (Squamata: Amphisbaenia) with extreme dental adaptations from the Eocene of Chambi, Tunisia". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 202 (3). doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae133. ISSN 0024-4082. Retrieved 13 January 2026 – via Oxford Academic.