Ikechosaurus

Ikechosaurus is an extinct genus of choristodere reptile which existed in China and Mongolia during the Early Cretaceous.^[2] It contains the species Ikechosaurus sunailinae and Ikechosaurus gaoi. It belongs to the crocodilian-like clade Neochoristodera and was initially assigned to the Champsosauridae by Sigogneau-Russell (1981).^[1] Compared to other neochoristoderes, Ikechosaurus has a rather simple dentition, lacking the speciations seen in latter species. It also has parasphenoid palatal teeth, a feature not seen in any other choristodere.^[3][4]

Ikechosaurus Temporal range: Valanginian–Aptian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Fossil specimen, Beijing Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	†Choristodera
Suborder:	†Neochoristodera
Genus:	†Ikechosaurus Sigogneau-Russell, 1981[1]

Closeup of the skull

References

1. D. Sigogneau-Russell. (1981). Présence d'un nouveau Champsosauridé dans le Crétacé supérieur de Chine. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences de Paris 292(1):1-4
2. A new species of Ikechosaurus (Reptilia: Choristodera) from the Jiufutang Formation (Early Cretaceous) of Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia Archived 2012-09-04 at the Wayback Machine LÜ J.-C.; Kobayashi Y.; Li Z.-G.
3. Morphology and function of the palatal dentition in Choristodera Article in Journal of Anatomy 228(3):n/a-n/a · November 2015 DOI: 10.1111/joa.12414
4. Junchang Lü; Qizhi Zhu; Xikan Cheng; Xiangke Du (1999). "Computed tomography (CT) of nasal cavity of Ikechosaurus sunailinae (Reptilia: Choristodera)". Chinese Science Bulletin. 44 (24): 2277–2281. Bibcode:1999ChSBu..44.2277L. doi:10.1007/BF02885939. S2CID 94574236.