Cyamodus

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Cyamodus
Fossil range: Early Triassic

Extinct (fossil)

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Superorder:	Sauropterygia
Order:	Placodontia
Superfamily:	Cyamodontoidea
Family:	Cyamodontidae
Genus:	Cyamodus Meyer, 1863

Species

C. rostratus (Münster, 1839) (type)
C. munsteri (Agassiz, 1833-45)
C. tarnowitzensis Gürich, 1884
C. hildegardis Peyer, 1931a
C. kuhnschneyderi Nosotti & Pinna 1993

Cyamodus was a Placodont, known from fossil remains discovered in Germany, in the early-to-mid 1800s and was named by Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer, in 1863. The fossils have been dated to the Triassic Period, from the Anisian to Ladinian stages. Cyamodus was 1.3 meters (4 feet) long.

Cyamodus was a heavily armored swimmer that fed mainly on shellfish that it was specialized to uproot and crush with its powerful jaws. The body of Cyamodus, specifically the armor, has been described as possessing a turtle-like flatness. The shell was a two-part carapace on the upper surface of the body. The larger half covered Cyamodus from the neck to the hips and spread out flat, almost encompassing the limbs. The second, smaller plate covered the hips and the base of the tail. The shells themselves are covered in hexagonal or circular plates of armor. The skull is heart-shaped and broad.

Thus far, three species of Cyamodus have been identified - Cyamodus rostratus (H. von Meyer), Cyamodus hildegardis (Giovanni Pinna), and Cyamodus kuhnschneyderi (Emil Kuhn-Schnyder).