Diplocynodon

Diplocynodon is an extinct genus of alligatoroid that lived during the Paleocene to middle Miocene in Europe. It looked very similar to the modern caiman in that it was small and had bony armour scutes covering its neck, back, belly, and tail. The longest Diplocynodon recovered was 4 feet in length and probably fed on small fish, frogs, and took insects when young.

Diplocynodon Temporal range: Paleocene–Middle Miocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Diplocynodon ratelii
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Crocodilia
Subfamily:	†Diplocynodontinae
Genus:	†Diplocynodon Pomel, 1847
Species
†D. dalpiazi Del Favero, 1999 †D. darwini (Ludvig, 1877) †D. elavericus Martin, 2010 †D. gervaisi †D. hantoniensis (Wood, 1846) †D. muelleri (Kälin, 1936) †D. ratelii Pomel, 1847 (type) †D. tormis †D. ungeri (Prangner, 1845) ?†D. deponiae (Frey, Laemmert & Riess, 1987)[1]
Synonyms
?Baryphracta Frey, Laemmert & Riess, 1987[1] Enneodon Pranger, 1845 ?Hispanochampsa Kälin, 1936 Saurocainus

In the nineteenth century, D. steineri was named from Styria, Austria and D. styriacus was named from Austria and France. A third Austrian species, Enneodon ungeri, was placed in its own genus. The Austrian and French species of Diplocynodon were synonymized with E. ungeri in 2011, and because the name Diplocynodon has priority over Enneodon, the species is now called D. ungeri. [2]

Well preserved specimens have been found in the Messel Pit and the Geiseltal lignite deposit in Germany. Most articulated Diplocynodon specimens from these localities contain gastroliths. In the Eocene epoch, the German sites were either a swampy freshwater lake (Messel Pit) or a peat bog swamp (Geiseltal).