Jaws

Jaws

Premaxilla and maxilla of the upper jaw are slender, relative to the bones of the lower jaw. The premaxilla carries three processes, a narrow ascending process followed by a large, roundish articulating process; both processes are separated by a narrow gap; at about the middle of the premaxilla rises the narrow, triangular postmaxillary process; no teeth are visible on the premaxilla of RA1 but small, hardly visible, conical teeth are developed on the premaxilla of RA5. The maxilla is rod-shaped and straight except for its most anterior part; this part is forked in two processes and bent anteriorly; the median process is slightly longer than the lateral process and contacts the maxillary process of the palatine; the lateral process contacts the articular process of the premaxilla; posteriorly, the maxilla widens ending in a wide triangular plate with straight edge.

The bones of the lower jaw are relative massive and the dentary and the anguloarticular are rather large; the suture between these two bones and the shape of the coronoid process are not visible; small, conical teeth are present on the dentary ( paratype); the retroarticular is positioned ventrally to the ventro-posterior corner of the anguloarticular slightly exceeding it caudally and ending in a rounded tip; at this tip attaches the interoperculo-mandibular ligament (LIM) which connects the lower jaw to the opercular series.