Spoon-Teethed Triassic Marine Reptile Rewrites Early Sauropterygian Roots

A new genus and species of sauropterygian marine reptile, Spatulidentatus breviceps, from the Middle Triassic (~245 million years ago) has been identified from a near-complete skeleton found on China’s Yunnan–Guizhou border. The specimen, GMG10, is preserved in Guizhou’s Geological Museum and exhibits spoon-shaped teeth and a notably short skull in a ~2.7 m animal. Recovered from the Guanling Formation, the discovery provides fresh data on basal sauropterygian evolution and hints at links to placodonts and early Atopodentatus, enriching understanding of Triassic marine ecosystems after the end-Permian extinction.