Terastiodontosaurus
| Terastiodontosaurus Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Clade: | Amphisbaenia |
| Family: | Trogonophidae |
| Genus: | â Terastiodontosaurus Georgalis et al., 2024 |
| Species: | â T. marcelosanchezi |
| Binomial name | |
| â Terastiodontosaurus marcelosanchezi Georgalis et al., 2024 | |
Terastiodontosaurus is an extinct genus of trogonophid worm lizard. Its only known species Terastiodontosaurus marcelosanchezi lived in Tunisia during the Lutetian stage of the Eocene epoch.[1]
Palaeobiology
[edit]Palaeoecology
[edit]The extremely thick enamel of Terastiodontosaurus marcelosanchezi indicates that its teeth were capable of withstanding very high stresses, likely indicating that T. marcelosanchezi was durophagous and could crush and consume a wide variety of snails.[2]
References
[edit]- â "PBDB Taxon". Retrieved 13 January 2026.
- â Georgalis, Georgios L.; Smith, Krister T.; Marivaux, Laurent; Herrel, Anthony; Essid, El Mabrouk; Khayati Ammar, Hayet; Marzougui, Wissem; Temani, Rim; Tabuce, Rodolphe (21 November 2024). "The world's largest worm lizard: a new giant trogonophid (Squamata: Amphisbaenia) with extreme dental adaptations from the Eocene of Chambi, Tunisia". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 202 (3). doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae133. ISSNÂ 0024-4082. Retrieved 13 January 2026 â via Oxford Academic.
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