Basic info Taxonomic history Classification Included Taxa
Morphology Ecology and taphonomy External Literature Search Age range and collections

Kosmodraco dakotensis

Reptilia - Simoedosauridae

Taxonomy
Simoedosaurus dakotensis was named by Erickson (1987). Its type specimen is SMM P76.10.1, a skeleton (a partly disarticulated skeleton), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is 2 miles north of Judson, which is in a Tiffanian terrestrial horizon in the Slope Formation of North Dakota. It is the type species of Kosmodraco.

It was recombined as Kosmodraco dakotensis by Brownstein (2022).

Synonymy list
YearName and author
1987Simoedosaurus dakotensis Erickson p. 237
2022Kosmodraco dakotensis Brownstein

Is something missing? Join the Paleobiology Database and enter the data

RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
Bilateria
EubilateriaAx 1987
Life
Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
Tetrapoda
Reptiliomorpha
Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
RankNameAuthor
Cotylosauria()
Amniota
Sauropsida
classReptilia
subclassEureptilia()
Romeriida
Diapsida()
Eosuchia()
Neodiapsida
SauriaGauthier 1984
Choristodera()
suborderNeochoristoderaEvans and Hecht 1993
familySimoedosauridaeLemone 1884
genusKosmodraco
speciesdakotensis()

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

Kosmodraco dakotensis Erickson 1987
show all | hide all
Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
B. R. Erickson 1987Differs from Simeodosaurus lemoinei in having shorter snout, with broader base, muzzle only 1/3 total length of the skull, elongated lachrymal, skull roofing bones more extensive, postorbital-parietal contact extending far forward of supratemporal fenestra, and less tooth size differentiation. Vertebrae have distinctive features such as: greater length of centrum and neural arch of axis; and less development of ventral carina on all cervicals. The femur is proportionately lighter and longer