Lanthanosuchus
watsoni -Efremov, 1946- skull
Parareptilia: Pareiasaurida:
Nycteroleterina: Lanthanoshuchidae
Locality: Isheevo,
Tatarstan, eastern European Russia
Age: Late Permian, 253 million years ago
In
the middle Late Permian, very unusual parareptiles of the
genus Lanthanosuchus
inhabited shoals in East Europe.
Its skull was so flat, that even rather weak
jaw muscles could not fit inside,
so they passed outside the skull through special
openings behind the eyes.
The thin skull roof was strengthened in Lanthanosuchus
by numerous bony tubercles and
edges. It fed on small shelly crustaceans swarmed
in shallow and warm coastal waters.
