Alocodon
hat is an Alocodon?
Alocodons were herbivores, meaning they only ate grass, plants, and seeds. Unfortunately it is almost impossible to know everything about these Alocodons because so far scientists and researchers have only found the teeth of this dinosaur.They reproduced b y laying eggs, meaning they eventually evolved into either birds or reptiles. Though most dinosaurs laid eggs. Due to alocodons having an incomplete nature they have not been researched any further past the recent year of 2020.They were originally classified as an ornithopod, though they have been reclassified many times since the first one in 1973.
When and where did Alocodon exist
The alocodons were believed to exist only in Portugal as that is the only known location, though they were found in terrestrial habitats, like forests, wetlands, and even shore lines. Though Portugal is the only known location so far there are so many more places that their fossils could possibly be found. They were alive during the mid Jurassic period, which was anywhere between 66 million years ago and over 200 million years ago, though that isn't an exact time period, it gives a good view of the time range you would have found them in.
Alocodon Paleoecology
Alocodons were found to be made up of multiple different fish, lizards, and they even found turtle shell fragments. A lot of very diverse fauna was found in Praia de Pedrógão in Portugal, which is a very beautiful beach side. Alocodon are believed to be ancestors of the pterosaur dinosaurs, specifically the Rhamphorhynchus pterosaur. The lizards that alocodons were closest related to were actually crocodiles. Not to mention they were also related to two different hybrid sharks. Footprints and teeth of large theropod dinosaurs indicate their more specific locations on the planet.
Alocodon Discovery
The alocodon were discovered first by a scientist by the name of Richard A. Thulborn in 1973. The research of alocodon was passed down to many other scientists within the several years of figuring out what these dinosaurs were and how to specify their lives and the way they hunted and lived. They were named alocodon from the Greek meaning of Furrow Tooth, alox and odon, due to the shape of the teeth that were discovered and the way they were shaped with a central dent on their teeth. The teeth were found in a strange deposit location found in Leiria district of portugal. Though the discovery of the tooth is the only known discovery of alocodons at this point, it is believed that scientists have given up on looking for this dinosaur due to the incomplete nature of what they have found, as a jaw bone and teeth do not give enough information about the dinosaur itself. Research could very well continue in the future once more unclassified dinosaur bones have been found. Though it is inconclusive at this point to know about any further research of the alocodon dinosaur breeds.
Other Alocodon Facts
Alocodons were believed to be herbivores, as stated before, herbivore means plant-eater. They were the type of dinosaur that laid eggs to reproduce. Over five thousand different specimens of the alocodon breed have been discovered by scientists. Though they could potentially find more in the future. Alocodons were believed to live in eastern europe due to their nature of bones being found near the coastlines of portugal. Though there isn't a whole lot of information on this specific breed of dinosaur, the facts that are out there are actually pretty interesting. From observations alocodon were not in any dinosaur movies. There's not a whole lot of other facts that can be shown in this article but if you find any information that wasn’t posted above, please feel free to share the information that you have found on the alocodons.
