Letognathus

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Letognathus
Temporal range: Early Carboniferous
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Sarcopterygii
Clade: Tetrapodomorpha
Class: Rhizodontida
Order: Rhizodontiformes
Family: Rhizodontidae
Genus: Letognathus
Brazeau, 2005
Type species
Letognathus hardingi
(Dawson, 1868)
Synonyms
  • Rhizodus hardingi (Dawson, 1868)
  • Strepsodus hardingi (Dawson, 1868)

Letognathus is a genus of rhizodont tetrapodomorph that lived during the Carboniferous period.[1] Its remains come from the Blue Beach Member of the Horton Bluff Formation, near Hantsport, Nova Scotia. Like most rhizodonts, it was of relatively large size, had a large recurved fang at the symphysis of the lower jaw, and a row of three coronoid fangs along the length of the jaw in addition to its marginal dentition. Letognathus is important for rhizodont systematics because it retains a number of primitive features, such as ossified Meckel's cartilage, are not found in the genera Rhizodus and Strepsodus.

References

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