Henodus

Name meaning:

One tooth

Period of life:

237-227 mya

Period:

Triassic period

Habitat:

Coasts

Taxonomy:

Marine reptiles

Countries:

Riojasaurus

Lotosaurus

Henodus ()

Henodus chelyops was a remarkable creature from the distant past. This ancient marine reptile belonged to the placodonts and lived around 230 million years ago, during the Triassic Period. Fossils of Henodus have been found in only one place on Earth — in south-western Germany, where salty and freshwater lagoons once stretched across the landscape.

Henodus was relatively small, reaching only about one metre in length. Yet its appearance was striking. At first glance, it resembled a modern turtle, although it was hardly related to one. Henodus belonged instead to the placodonts — an ancient group of marine reptiles closely related to plesiosaurs.

Its body was well protected by armour. Unlike modern turtles, however, its shell was not formed from modified ribs and bones, but from hundreds of small bony plates fitted tightly together like a mosaic. Towards the edges, the shell narrowed into a pair of strong, flattened “flaps”, which may have helped it swim or defend itself from predators.

The mouth of Henodus was blunt and toothless, more like a beak. It fed mainly on molluscs and other slow-moving inhabitants of shallow waters, crushing their shells with its powerful jaws. Its short, thick limbs allowed it to move confidently along the seabed and, if necessary, haul itself onto land.

Henodus spent most of its life in the water, but it probably sometimes crawled ashore to bask in the sun. Females may have done the same during reproduction, emerging onto land to lay their eggs in sand.

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