PTYCHOTHERATES
a herrerasaurian saurischian dinosaur from the Late Triassic of North America
Pronunciation: TY-ko-THEH-ruh-teez
Meaning: Folded hunter
Author/s: Srivastava and Nesbitt (
2026)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: New Mexico, USA
Acta Ordinal: #1228
Ptychotherates bucculentus
(Folded Hunter with Full Cheeks)Etymology
Ptychotherates is derived from the Greek "ptycho" (fold) and "therates" (hunter), referring to the difficulty "unfolding" and reorientating its crushed and disarticulated skull, and the carnivorous habits inferred from its teeth.
The
species epithet,
bucculentus (BOO-koo-LEN-tus), means "with full cheeks" in Latin, referring to its unusually tall cheek bone (jugal).
ZooBank registry:
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:F270573F-6A0B-4680-AB56-11EECBE2F5DF
Discovery
The remains of
Ptychotherates were discovered in the Chinle Formation Formation, in the
Coelophysis Quarry at Ghost Ranch, northern New Mexico, United States in 1982.
The
holotype (CM 31368) is a partial skull.
Preparators
Alex Downs, Vicki Yarborough and Annamarie Fadorsen.
Estimations
Timeline:
Era: Mesozoic
Epoch: Triassic
Stage: Norian-Rhaetian
Age range: 209-201 mya
Stats:
Est. max. length: 2.1 meters
Est. max. hip height: 0.7 meters
Est. max. weight: ?
Diet: Carnivore
Herrerasauria
Morphoraptora
Ptychotherates
bucculentus
References
• Srivastava S and Nesbitt SJ (2026) "A new taxon of saurischian dinosaur from the
Coelophysis Quarry of New Mexico, USA (Triassic: latest Norian or Rhaetian) highlights herrerasaurian diversity in the latest Triassic".
Papers in Palaeontology, 12(2): e70069. DOI: 10.1002/spp2.70069.
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To cite this page:
Atkinson, L.
"
PTYCHOTHERATES :: from DinoChecker's dinosaur archive".
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http://www.dinochecker.com/dinosaurs/PTYCHOTHERATES›. Web access: 18th Aug 2026.
