Erikodus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Erikodus Temporal range: Permian | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Order: | †Eugeneodontiformes |
| Family: | †Caseodontidae |
| Genus: | †Erikodus Nielsen, 1952 |
| Species: | †E. groenlandicus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Erikodus groenlandicus Nielsen, 1932 | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Agassizodus groenlandicus Nielsen, 1932 | |
Erikodus is an extinct genus of caseodontid eugeneodont from the Late Permian of Greenland. A single species, E. groenlandicus, is known, which was originally classified as a species of Agassizodus.[1] The genus had a row of rounded, overlapping teeth along the midline (or symphysis) of both the upper and lower jaw, as well as rows of flat, plate-like, rectangular crushing teeth elsewhere in the mouth.
Remains of the genus are known from the Guadalupian-age Foldiv Creek Formation of East Greenland.[1] The type species, Erikodus groenlandicus, was originally named as a species of Agassizodus in 1932 by Danish paleontologist Egil Nielsen. Teeth referred to the genus Copodus were also described by Nielsen in 1932.[2] In a 1952 publication, Nielsen recognized that the species was distinct from Agassizodus and classified it as a distinct genus, and also recognized that the remains assigned to Copodus were also teeth of the same animal.[1][3] Nielsen named the genus in honor of Swedish paleontologist Erik Stensiö.[3][4]
