Metoposaur Rib
Age - 200-220 Million Years Old - Triassic Era
Species - Metoposaurus
Discovered - Arizona, Chinle Formation
 
* Metoposaur *
Metoposaurus meaning "front lizard" is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian, known from the Late Triassic of Germany, Italy, Poland, and Portugal. This mostly aquatic animal possessed small, weak limbs, sharp teeth, and a large, flat head. This highly flattened creature mainly fed on fish, which is captured with its wide jaws lined with needle-like teeth.
 
* The Triassic Era *
The Triassic is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.9 million years ago, to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.3 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.
 
* The Chinle Formation *
The Chinle Formation is an Upper Triassic continental geological formation of fluvial, lacustrine, and palustrine to eolian deposits spread across the U.S. states of Nevada, Utah, northern Arizona, western New Mexico, and western Colorado. The Chinle is controversially considered to be synonymous to the Dockum Group of eastern Colorado and New Mexico, western Texas, the Oklahoma panhandle, and southwestern Kansas. The Chinle is sometimes colloquially named as a formation within the Dockum Group in New Mexico and Texas. The Chinle Formation is part of the Colorado Plateau, Basin and Range, and the southern section of the Interior Plains.