A third look at Daemonosaurus

Figure 1. Daemonosaurus skull in 3 views. The new reconstruction is narrower than previously with a new descending pterygoid flange and very few other refinements. The jaw is shorter. The dentary fang(s) appear to slip into that pmx/mx notch as in Heterodontosaurus.

Figure 3. Daemonosaurus skull. Note the distinct prefrontal and palpebral. Not sure what that elliptical lavendar bone is in the temple region. Perhaps it is an occipital bone, like the supraoccipital. Note the depth of the quadrate. The post narial process of the premaxilla is a key trait shared with ornithischians.

Figure 2. Daemonosaurus skull other side. Parietal crest in blue in the orbit. The back half of the prefrontal is broken off along with that big gap in the frontal. This side’s palpebral has drifted to the top rear of the orbit in magenta. Part of the maxilla nearest the antorbital fenestra is missing. Here again the quadrate is deep. Jugal is split into three large parts.

Figure 5. Daemonosaurus mandible traced, left side. Purple appears to be the coronoid flipped. Aqua blue appears to be the pteroid descending/transverse flange.

Figure 5. Daemonosaurus mandible traced, right side flipped.

Figure 6. Daemonosaurus and kin. Here a selection of basal dinosaurs is divided into clades. Note the strong resemblances. These taxa are not too far from one another. The real flowering of the Dinosauria comes in the Jurassic and Cretaceous. Mortimer’s basal dinosaur tree placed Sacisaurus basal to plant-eaters and theropods nested as derived from them. That doesn’t happen in this scenario.