Name:
Saltopus (Greek for "hopping foot"); pronounced SAL-toe-puss
Habitat:
Swamps of western Europe
Historical Period:
Late Triassic (210 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About two feet long and a few pounds
Diet:
Small animals
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Small size; numerous teeth
About Saltopus:
Saltopus is yet another of those Triassic reptiles that inhabits a "shadow zone" between the most advanced archosaurs and the earliest dinosaurs. Because the single fossil of this creature is incomplete, experts differ about how it should be classified, some assigning it as an early theropod dinosaur and others saying it was akin to "dinosauriform" archosaurs like Marasuchus.
