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Description
Tertraprotodon was without a doubt one of the strangest of all Paleogene dinosaurs. Known only from a single, well preserved skull found at Faiyum, this animal was totally unlike anything found elsewhere in the world. While the skull is quite clearly that of a Noasaurid Ceratosaur, it shows a number of features previously unknown in that group. The most obvious of these were the teeth that gave this bizarre creature its name; they are large and forward facing, giving Tertraprotodon an almost beaked, Oviraptorosaur-like appearance. Noasaurids have always been famed for their odd teeth, but in this animal the trait has been taken in a most unusual direction. Quite what evolutionary pressures led to this development is unknown, but it is presumed that Tetraprotodon may have lived like an Oviraptorid, using its tooth beak to grab fruit, seeds and small animals. Although living relatives of this animal still live on Madagascar (which they reached by rafting during the Early Miocene before becoming extinct in Africa), these are terrifying 7m long predators with serrated beak teeth that inhabit a completely different niche to their ancestors. Tetraprotodon was tiny in comparison, measuring only 2m long. Genetic testing has revealed that the Tertraprotodon lineage must have already diverged by the Late Creaceous, putting the point of divergence with other Noasaurids at approximately 80 mya. We will have to wait for further fossil evidence to gain a better understanding of the early development of this most bizarre group of dinosaurs.

Description
Tertraprotodon was without a doubt one of the strangest of all Paleogene dinosaurs. Known only from a single, well preserved skull found at Faiyum, this animal was totally unlike anything found elsewhere in the world. While the skull is quite clearly that of a Noasaurid Ceratosaur, it shows a number of features previously unknown in that group. The most obvious of these were the teeth that gave this bizarre creature its name; they are large and forward facing, giving Tertraprotodon an almost beaked, Oviraptorosaur-like appearance. Noasaurids have always been famed for their odd teeth, but in this animal the trait has been taken in a most unusual direction. Quite what evolutionary pressures led to this development is unknown, but it is presumed that Tetraprotodon may have lived like an Oviraptorid, using its tooth beak to grab fruit, seeds and small animals. Although living relatives of this animal still live on Madagascar (which they reached by rafting during the Early Miocene before becoming extinct in Africa), these are terrifying 7m long predators with serrated beak teeth that inhabit a completely different niche to their ancestors. Tetraprotodon was tiny in comparison, measuring only 2m long. Genetic testing has revealed that the Tertraprotodon lineage must have already diverged by the Late Creaceous, putting the point of divergence with other Noasaurids at approximately 80 mya. We will have to wait for further fossil evidence to gain a better understanding of the early development of this most bizarre group of dinosaurs.