PBS writes “Figuring out what this creature’s face actually looked like would take paleontologists years. But understanding this weird animal can help us shine a light on at least one way for ecosystems to bounce back from even the worst mass extinction.”
Atopodentatus is an extinct genus of marine reptile, possibly basal sauropterygian, known from the early Middle Triassic of Luoping County, Yunnan Province, southwestern China. Atopodentatus is 3 metres (9.8 ft) long. The geological strata in which the fossil was found, the elongated body, reduced neck, robust appendages and hips of Atopodentatus all suggest that the reptile was probably semi-aquatic in nature.
Originally, the upper mandible of Atopodentatus was believed to have small teeth running along the jawline, and then up along a vertical split in the middle of the upper jaw. This gave the upper jaw the appearance of a “zipper smile of little teeth”. The upper jaw was believed to have hooked downwards. Discoveries in 2016, however, overthrew these findings, and revealed that Atopodentatus actually had a hammer-shaped head, with a bank of chisel-shaped teeth, that was useful in rooting the seabed for food.
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