Cyclotosaurus is a mastodonsaurid temnospondyl amphibian from the Late Triassic of Germany, the United Kingdom, Greenland, Poland, Russia, and Thailand. It was named in 1889 by Eberhard Fraas. It was one of the largest amphibians of the Triassic, and the genus includes 7 species.
Physiology[]
Like its cousin, Mastodonsaurus, Cyclotosaurus resembled a mix between a frog, a salamander, and a crocodile. It had 4 legs, a long tail similar to that of a tadpole, a bulky body, a big, semi-flat head with big jaws, and eyes on the top of its head. Its body would have been covered in smooth skin.
Diet[]
Cyclotosaurus was a predator, preying mainly on fish, but also snacking on small reptiles and smaller amphibians from time to time. It had a flattened jaw that contained sharp teeth, including a few elongated teeth at the beginning of the lower jaw.
Ecology[]
Like Mastodonsaurus, Cyclotosaurus was a front-heavy amphibian that spent all of its time in the water. Cyclotosaurus was dominantly piscivorous in its dietary habits, and would snack on small fish that came near it; however, larger species were also capable of ambushing small archosaurs that stood near the water's edge. In many places, Cyclotosaurus lived with phytosaurs, unique reptiles that bore a great resemblance to modern crocodiles. In fact, it is sometimes thought that phytosaurs were outcompeting large stereospondyls like Cyclotosaurus, due to the former being more advanced.