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Atopodentatus unicus

Atopodentatus unicus | image tagged in atopodentatus unicus | made w/ Imgflip meme maker
49 views 2 upvotes Made by Modda 6 months ago in Prehistory_stream
6 Comments
1 up, 6mo
Eretmorhipis | image tagged in eretmorhipis | made w/ Imgflip meme maker
Eretmorhipis
1 up, 6mo,
1 reply
What the hell happened here | image tagged in what the hell happened here | made w/ Imgflip meme maker
Looks like a huge platypus of some kind.
1 up, 6mo
made w/ Imgflip meme maker
Actually Eretmorhipis was more akin to a prehistoric reptilian version of a platypus with its mouth and how it functioned:



imgflip.com/i/8szvp3

Atopodentatus, on the other hand, is a bit of mystery. The first specimen when described in 2014 had been crushed laterally as it fossilized, so it was reconstructed as pictured here with the upper jaw having a zipper-like formation. They figured it was probably some sort of really unusual filter feeder.

Then two more specimens in 2016 showed that actually the mouth was more a wide flattened thing shaped like a vacuum cleaner. They figure it ate algae and seaweed, scraping it off rocks like modern day marine iguanas do, but the teeth are needle-like and jut forward, so it's not clear how they were used exactly.
1 up, 6mo
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbWgo7UpEQYBJ8Vct9-1pcn8h30hJ01i8H0byJejhuQHa5ihddqQFDrZ0pSALDZSS-E-68Y7I3rwNmURWNSpnDaIvcJdgYVZUfeqiTRXqplviVCcou-bK-02XFdGIlWbVrjz-uR3zXNE1-/s1600/Atopodentatus_new_NT.jpg
0 ups, 6mo
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbWgo7UpEQYBJ8Vct9-1pcn8h30hJ01i8H0byJejhuQHa5ihddqQFDrZ0pSALDZSS-E-68Y7I3rwNmURWNSpnDaIvcJdgYVZUfeqiTRXqplviVCcou-bK-02XFdGIlWbVrjz-uR3zXNE1-/s1600/Atopodentatus_new_NT.jpg
0 ups, 6mo
Archosaurus rossicus (skull), a proterosuchid archosauriform from the latest Permian, Russia
Created with the Imgflip Meme Generator
EXTRA IMAGES ADDED: 1
  • Atopodentatus_new_NT.jpg