The crocodilian Bernissartia in the Wealden of the Isle of Wight

Placeholder image

The crocodilian Bernissartia in the Wealden of the Isle of Wight

  • Volume / Part: 22 / 4
  • Publication Date: November 1979
  • Page(s): 905 - 912
  • Authored By: Eric Buffetaut and R. L. E. Ford

£1.00

Isolated rounded teeth from the Wealden of the Isle of Wight are shown to belong to the small crocodilian Bernissartia, hitherto known only from the Wealden of Belgium. A partial skeleton from the Wealden of Hastings, described by Owen as 'Crocodilus saulii', is also referred to this genus. Similar rounded teeth have also been found in the Wealden of eastern Spain, and possibly in the Lower Cretaceous Trinity Formation of Texas. The crushing posterior teeth of Bernissartia are probably indicative of a specialized diet including a large proportion of hard-shelled molluscs.

Palaeontology - Volume 22 Part 4 Pages 905-912



Palaeontology - Volume 22 Part 4 Pages 905-912

Citations

BUFFETAUT, E., FORD, R. L. E. 1979. The crocodilian Bernissartia in the Wealden of the Isle of Wight. Palaeontology, 22, 4, 905–912.