Palaeobates
Extinct genus of cartilaginous fishes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Palaeobates is an extinct genus of prehistoric elasmobranchs in the order Hybodontiformes. It lived during the Triassic period.[1] It was a small shark about 1 m (3.3 ft) long.[2] Palaeobates had a grinding-type dentition, which it used to crush hard-shelled prey. The teeth exhibit an orthodont histology.
| Palaeobates Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| |
| Early Triassic Palaeobates polaris from Svalbard - picture taken at Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Universität Zurich | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Order: | †Hybodontiformes |
| Family: | †Acrodontidae |
| Genus: | †Palaeobates Meyer, 1849 |
| Type species | |
| †Psammodus angustissimus Agassiz in Alberti, 1834 | |
| Other species | |
| |
Palaeoecology
Dental microwear analysis of P. angustissimus confirms that it was a durophagous predator, eating bivalves, gastropods, crustaceans and/or echinoderms.[3]
