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“Apachesaurus” Amphibian Tooth #10

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Fossil Amphibian Collection

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Description

  • Apachesaurus (Juvenile Koskinodon perfectus)
  • Amphibian Tooth
  • Triassic Age
  • Bull Canyon Formation
  • San Miguel County, New Mexico
  • Specimen measures approx  1/8″ long and will come in the 3.25″ x 4.25″ Riker Mount with Label as Shown

Apachesaurus is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian.

Apachesaurus was a member of the Metoposauridae group of temnospondyl amphibians,‭ ‬though one that was particularly small.‭ ‬The larger close relatives of Apachesaurus include Metoposaurus and Koskinonodon which could grow up to two and a half to three meters long.‭ ‬Apachesaurus however grew only to around just over forty centimetres long.

Due to the smaller size,‭ ‬Apachesaurus were probably predators of smaller aquatic organisms.‭ ‬Like other related genera,‭ ‬the eyes were placed further forward on the skull that those of other temnospondyl amphibians.‭ ‬Fossils of Apachesaurus are particularly well known from the states of Arizona and New Mexico where individuals have been found in concentrations.‭ ‬This seems to be a recurring theme that Apachesaurus shares with its relative genera,‭ ‬and the explanation is that metoposaurids were not very good at walking on land,‭ ‬so when pools of water and rivers dried out,‭ ‬they were left exposed to the air where they too dried out and died from lack of water.

In 2017, the contemporary Apachesaurus gregorii was found to be a juvenile stage of Koskinonodon perfectus.