Phytosaurus

Discovery and naming

In 1826, the holotypes of both species were discovered in Wurttemburg, Germany at the "Neckar" site at the base of the hill which Wildenau Castle stands upon. The holotype of P. cylindricodon consists of parts of the skull and jaws, with natural casts of the teeth which, however, did not preserve their conical form but were flattened which led to the misunderstanding they were specialised in eating plant material, and the holotype of P. cubicodon consists of fragments of the jaw. Both species were named and described by von Jaeger (1828) and were first commented on by von Meyer (1837).

Many later authors, beginning with Owen (1841), have classified both species of Phytosaurus as nomen dubia due to the lack of known diagnostic material. Owen (1841) had Phytosaurus classified as a synonym of Mastodonsaurus, an unrelated amphibian, and later Labyrinthodon, a now obsolete taxon.

A partial phytosaur specimen found at the "UCMP V6333" locality of the Dockum Formation in Texas was initially referred to Phytosaurus sp., but has since been reclassified as an indeterminate mystriosuchine phytosaur.