Saurodon
Extinct genus of ray-finned fishes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Saurodon (from Greek: σαῦρος saûros, 'lizard' and Greek: ὀδούς odoús 'tooth')[1] is an extinct genus of ichthyodectiform ray-finned fish from the Late Cretaceous.
| Saurodon Temporal range: Possible late Maastrichtian records | |
|---|---|
| Reconstructed S. leanus skeleton, Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center, Woodland Park, Colorado | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | †Ichthyodectiformes |
| Family: | †Saurodontidae |
| Genus: | †Saurodon Hays, 1830 |
Saurodon leanus is known to occur as early as the Santonian to the early Campanian. It was a large, predatory fish, with a length of more than 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in).[2] S. elongatus from the late Campanian or early Maastrichtian of Calcari di Melissano, Italy had length only around 90 cm (35 in).[3] Potentially the last record of Saurodon is from the late Maastrichtian of the Muwaqqar Chalk-Marl Formation of Jordan.[4]
Species
Sources
- Fishes of the World by Joseph S. Nelson

