Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
327 / Mesozoic
Placodus
Placodus gigas
Chisel incisors and crushing palatal teeth formed a shell-opening toolkit.
View original image · 1536 × 1024- Time range
- About 247–237 million years ago
- Final stage
- Middle Triassic
- Geographic range
- Tethyan coastal shallows · Europe
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Placodus?
Placodus (Placodus gigas) was an extinct organism known from About 247–237 million years ago, with a range in Tethyan coastal shallows · Europe.
Life and ecology
Placodus pried mollusks from rocks and crushed them while heavy bones aided diving.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Placodus disappear?
Changing shallow seas and prey communities are possible context; a younger fauna does not by itself show that other placodonts replaced it.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Placodus?
Skulls, teeth, dense ribs and skeletons directly support durophagy.
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