Ceratodus

Ceratodus
Ceratodus
Temporal range: 228–70 Ma
Middle Triassic-Late Cretaceous
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Sarcopterygii
Order: Ceratodontiformes
Family: Ptychoceratodontidae
Genus: Ceratodus
Agassiz, 1837
Species

C. latissimus (type)
Agassiz, 1837 Many more, see text

Ceratodus (Greek for "horned tooth") was a wide-ranging genus of extinct sarcopterygiian lungfish. Fossil evidence dates back to the Middle Triassic 228 million years ago. A wide range of fossil species from different time periods have been found around the world in places such as the United States, Argentina, England, Germany, Egypt, Madagascar, China, and Australia. Ceratodus is believed to have become extinct sometime around the beginning of the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous, 70 Ma. The closest living relative of Ceratodus is thought to be the Queensland lungfish, Neoceratodus forsteri, which means "new Ceratodus" in Greek.

Species

  • C. latissimus (type)
    Agassiz, 1837
  • C. africanus
    Haug, 1905
  • C. cruciferus
    Cope, 1876
  • C. felchi
    Kirkland, 1987
  • C. frazieri
    Ostrom, 1970
  • C. guentheri
    Marsh, 1878 [moved to Potamoceratodus in 2010 by Pardo et al.]
  • C. gustasoni
    Kirkland, 1987
  • C. hieroglyphus
    Cope, 1876
  • C. humei
    Priem, 1914
  • C. robustus
    Knight, 1898
  • C. szechuanensis
    Young, 1942

Gallery

References