Letognathus
Extinct genus of tetrapodomorphs
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
| Letognathus Temporal range: Early Carboniferous | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | †Rhizodontida |
| Order: | †Rhizodontiformes |
| Family: | †Rhizodontidae |
| Genus: | †Letognathus Brazeau, 2005 |
| Type species | |
| Letognathus hardingi (Dawson, 1868) | |
| Synonyms | |
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Taxonomic History
The members of the Rhizodontida have nearly all had complex taxonomic histories[2] due to earlier use of the genus Strepsodus as a wastebasket taxon. The taxon was originally assigned to the genus Rhizodus by John William Dawson and later to Strepsodus by Arthur Smith Woodward. A new genus was erected for the Horton Bluff material based on a number of differences from either Strepsodus or Rhizodus.
