Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
353 / Mesozoic
Mastodonsaurus
Mastodonsaurus giganteus
Two lower-jaw tusks passed through openings in the palate when the mouth closed.
View original image · 1600 × 1067- Time range
- About 247–237 million years ago
- Final stage
- Middle Triassic
- Geographic range
- Freshwater lakes and rivers · Central Europe
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Mastodonsaurus?
Mastodonsaurus (Mastodonsaurus giganteus) was an extinct organism known from About 247–237 million years ago, with a range in Freshwater lakes and rivers · Central Europe.
Life and ecology
Its huge flat skull suited bottom ambushes, and most of the body probably remained in water.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Mastodonsaurus disappear?
Triassic changes in drainage and giant-amphibian faunas are possible context; the fossil record does not establish a specific cause.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Mastodonsaurus?
Skulls, teeth, vertebrae and trackways reveal the bite, though soft-tissue posture remains inferred.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS