Basutodon

Basutodon was a genus of suchian archosaur from the late Norian-early Rhaetian-age Upper Triassic Lower Elliot Formation of Lesotho.^[1] The type species is B. ferox.

Basutodon Temporal range: Late Triassic, ~210–201.3 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Archosauria
Clade:	Pseudosuchia
Clade:	Suchia
Genus:	†Basutodon von Huene, 1932
Species:	†B. ferox
Binomial name
†Basutodon ferox von Huene, 1932

Discovery and naming

The holotype is a single tooth that was discovered alongside the remains of Euskelosaurus browni in the upper Elliot Formation, Lesotho. The species Basutodon ferox was named and described by von Huene (1932).^[1]

"Likhoelesaurus ingens", an undescribed archosauriform from the Lower Elliot Formation of South Africa,^[2] may have been the same animal as Basutodon ferox.^[3][4]

Description

Basutodon was once classified as a prosauropod, as with Teratosaurus or as a synonym of Euskelosaurus. It was probably neither of these things, though, and is much more likely to be a dubious non-dinosaur.^[5]

Basutodon is currently listed as a basal member of Suchia,^[3] although Tolchard et al. (2019) suggested that Basutodon may belong to Rauisuchia.^[6]