Rhynchosaurs are a group of extinct herbivorous Triassic archosauromorph reptiles, belonging to the order Rhynchosauria. Members of the group are distinguished by their triangular skulls and elongated, beak like premaxillary bones. Rhynchosaurs first appeared in the Early Triassic, reaching their broadest abundance and a global distribution during the Carnian stage of the Late Triassic.
Rhynchosaur
Hyperodapedon huxleyi (=Paradapedon)
Skull of Rhynchosaurus articeps
Skull of a rhynchosaur, in Educational Museum Gama D'Eça.
The Triassic is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period of the Mesozoic Era. Both the start and end of the period are marked by major extinction events. The Triassic Period is subdivided into three epochs: Early Triassic, Middle Triassic and Late Triassic.
Early Triassic sandstone (Buntsandstein) near Stadtroda, Germany
Middle Triassic Muschelkalk (shell-bearing limestone) near Dörzbach, Germany
Late Triassic Steigerwald Formation and overlying Hassberge Formation in Schönbuch, Germany
Sydney, Australia lies on Triassic shales and sandstones. Almost all of the exposed rocks around Sydney belong to the Triassic Sydney sandstone.
