Acynodon

 ( Hylaeochampsidae ) 

Acynodon is an extinct genus of crocodylomorpha from the Late Cretaceous, with fossils found throughout Southern Europe.

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Classification The genus Acynodon contains three species: A. iberoccitanus, A. adriaticus, and A. lopezi. have been found in France, Spain, Italy, and Romania, dating back to the Santonian and Maastrichtian periods of the Late Cretaceous.

When first described in 1997, it was placed within the family Alligatoridae. New findings a decade later led to it being reclassified as a basal . Recent studies have since resolved Acynodon as a basal crocodylomorpha, outside of the Crocodylia crown group, and a close relative to Hylaeochampsa.

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Description The skull of Acynodon is extremely brevirostrine; it had a very short and broad snout compared to other known alligatorids. Its dentition was quite Synapomorphy, with enlarged molariform teeth and a lack of and Dentary bone caniniform teeth, presumably an adaptation to feed on slow prey with hard shells. The paravertebral of Acynodon were distinctively double-keeled.

A. adriaticus was highly specialized to durophagy, likely in shallow, densely vegetated waters. It had an acute lateral snout profile of A. adriaticus in comparison to the more rounded shape of A. iberoccitanus.

Categories: Hylaeochampsidae, Late Cretaceous Crocodylomorphs Of Europe, Late Cretaceous Reptiles Of Europe, Fossil Taxa Described In 1997, Prehistoric Pseudosuchian Genera, Fossils Of Italy

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