Description

Phytosaur
Late Triassic (Norian)
Upper Redonda Formation, Chinle Group
Quay County, New Mexico, USA

22mm tooth on 39mm matrix.

Phytosaurs (Order Phytosauria) were crocodile-like archosaurs that lived during the Late Triassic of various parts of North America.  Some species were larger than any crocodile living today, exceeding 25 feet in length.   There were early crocodilians at this time but they were small.

Phytosaurs died out during the end-Triassic mass extinction.