Picrodon

Picrodon is the name given to a genus of archosaur, possibly a sauropodomorph dinosaur, from the Rhaetian of England which was possibly synonymous with the dubious archosaur Avalonianus. The type, and only species, P. herveyi, was named in 1898.

Discovery and naming

In 1894, W. A. Sanford described the fossil remains of what he considered to be two large reptiles discovered near Westbury-on-Severn, Glastonbury by Eev. Sydenham H. A. Hervey and Sanford himself. Harry [Govier Seeley] described the fossils and named two genera: Avalonia and Picrodon; both are based solely on teeth.
Only a single tooth, holotype BMNH R2875, belonging to P. herveyi is known, making the remains insufficient to make judgments on its diet or its classification; although it is agreed that Picrodon was an archosaur to some degree.

Classification

Sanford classified Picrodon as a reptile, while Seeley classified Picrodon as a saurian. More modern research however almost certainly places Picrodon within Archosauria; Peter [Malcolm Galton] suggested that Picrodon may have been a basal sauropodomorph. Currently, its exact phylogenetic placement within Archosauria remains unknown.