Pirodus
Extinct genus of cartilaginous fish
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pirodus is an extinct genus of caseodontid eugeneodont from the Carboniferous of Russia. The genus includes a single species, P. conicus, which is known only from a single, incomplete fossil of its lower teeth. These teeth were fused together and sat along the midline of the jaw.[1]
| Pirodus Temporal range: Carboniferous | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Order: | †Eugeneodontiformes |
| Family: | †Caseodontidae |
| Genus: | †Pirodus |
| Species: | †P. conicus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Pirodus conicus Lebedev, 2001 | |
Discovery
The holotype specimen of Pirodus was described by researcher Oleg Lebedev in a 2001 paper, and originated from the Shchurovo-Korobcheyevo Formation of Moscow Oblast, Russia.[1]
Description
Pirodus is known from a fragment of a tooth-whorl surrounded by dermal denticles. The tooth-whorl of this taxon consisted of a single fused base (or root) with multiple flattened, overlapping crowns protruding from it.[1] The denticles of the taxon are large and conical, and may have been fused to the teeth.[2]
