Langobardisaurus

The Langobardisaurus was a small reptile with a body size shorter than 50 cm.[2] Despite its small size, the Langobardisaurus featured a long neck with elongate cervical vertebrae featuring low neural spines.[3] Atop its long neck, the Langobardisaurus had a large yet short triangular skull that featured a small rostrum and large orbits.[4] Its large orbits are evidence of reliance on visual perception – this suggests that the Langobardisaurus likely had good eyesight. The Langobardisaurus skull morphology reflects its unique pattern of dentition. The front part of the upper jaw is toothless, although some grooves on the premaxilla have been mistaken to be teeth in the past despite their lack of enamel.[5][2] Past this toothless region of the snout, there were larger tricuspid (three-pronged) cheek teeth on the maxilla and a large molariform tooth which is elongated in anteroposterior direction. This molariform tooth was flattened, with its occluding surface bent inwards and covered with tiny denticles. The lower jaw featured a similar molariform tooth which occluded with the aforementioned upper counterpart. Additionally, the lower jaw was robust and had a high coronoid process which suggests that the capability of a powerful bite.[2][6] Given this and its distinct tooth pattern, these traits suggest that the Langobardisaurus performed excessive grinding of its food. However, none of the discovered specimens included the jaw articulation, so the conclusions that can be drawn are limited.[3][7] A dentition pattern as described is certainly unique, and not found in any other 'protorosaur'. In an analysis of the Langobardisaurus jaw and teeth morphology, Renesto and Dalla Vecchia speculated that the Langobardisaurus survived on a diet of large insects, crustaceans, and small fish with tough scales.[5] Additionally, it has been hypothesized that the Langobardisaurus used its long neck to pluck insects out of the air, in addition to burying its head deep into burrows to capture fleeing crustacean prey.

The long neck was opposed by an even longer tail, which featured 45 caudal vertebrae[4] – making it twice the length of the trunk.[6] Paleontologists hypothesize that the long tail of Langobardisaurus was a key adaptation for the genus that had significant impacts on its daily activity. A long tail allowed the Langobardisaurus to balance its body in a bipedal stance, despite its long neck.[8] Able to stand tall on its hind legs, the Langobardisaurus could have utilized its keen eyesight and long neck (extended vertically) to survey nearby terrain for both predators and prey.

The fossil record shows that the Langobardisaurus featured short forelimbs dwarfed by much longer, hollow hind limbs. The tibia and fibula elements were slightly shorter than the femur. Moving distally, the tarsi were small and compact.[6] These facts suggest that the Langobardisaurus was capable of bipedal locomotion.[4] Bipedal locomotion was undoubtedly a large advantage for the Langobardisaurus - such an adaptation would have allowed the animal to both chase after prey and run from predators. Based on the hypothesis that the Langobardisaurus fed on insects, crustaceans, and fish, the ability to run after prey afforded the Langobardisaurus a significant increase in its hunting capabilities, even if it was only able to run in short bursts. Based on the available morphological and geological information on the genus, paleontologists hypothesize that the Langobardisaurus had adaptation to aquatic life. Rather, the genus likely lived near marine environments - consistent with the proposition that it survived off of crustaceans found in tidal flats. The late Triassic topographical features of the regions in which the specimens were found further support this claim [7]

Fossil specimen originally assigend to "L. tonelloi"

Langobardisaurus tonelloi was first described by Muscio as a new species of Langobardisaurus in 1997[13] due to observed differences in phalangeal formula and limb bone proportion, though reinvestigation of these features has rendered them to be taxonomically insignificant. L. tonelloi is thus considered synonymous with L. pandolfii.[2]

Langobardisaurus rossii was first described by Bizzarini and Muscio in 1995.[14] However, a detailed review of the specimen by Renesto and Dalla Vecchia led them to conclude that the Langobardisaurus rossii was a lepidosauromorph, and likely a rhynchocephalian.[9]