Belodon

Belodon (meaning "arrow tooth") is a genus of phytosaur, a crocodile-like reptile that lived during the Triassic. Its fossils have been found in Europe and elsewhere. The type species, Belodon plieningeri, was named by prolific German paleontologist Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer in 1844.

Belodon Temporal range: Triassic, 205.6–201.6 Ma[1] PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Belodon teeth originally referred to Mystriosuchus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	†Phytosauria
Family:	†Phytosauridae
Genus:	†Belodon von Meyer, 1844
Type species
†Belodon plieningeri von Meyer, 1844
Other species
B. priscus? Leidy, 1856
Synonyms
Belodon buceros Cope, 1881 Belodon kapfii von Meyer, 1861 (now Nicrosaurus) Belodon lepturus Cope, 1870 Belodon priscus Leidy, 1856 Belodon scolopax Cope, 1881 Belodon validus Marsh, 1893 Compsosaurus priscus? Leidy, 1856

An outdated reconstruction of Belodon and Aetosaurus. The skull of Belodon is based on Nicrosaurus kapffi, and the carapace on Paratypothorax

Many other species were also named, among them Belodon buceros (named by Edward Drinker Cope in 1881),[2] Belodon kapfii (von Meyer, 1861), Belodon lepturus (Cope, 1870),[3] Belodon priscus (originally described as Compsosaurus priscus by Joseph Leidy in 1856),[4] Belodon scolopax (Cope, 1881),[2] and Belodon validus (Othniel Charles Marsh, 1893).[5] Some paleontologists of the late 19th and early 20th century believed Belodon was synonymous with Phytosaurus or Machaeroprosopus.