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]
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
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An outdated reconstruction of Belodon and Aetosaurus.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.

References

  1. "†Belodon Meyer 1844". Paleobiology Database. Fossilworks. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  2. Cope, E.D. (1881). "Belodon in New Mexico". American Naturalist 15: 922-923.
  3. Cope, E.D. (1870). "Reptilia of the Triassic Formation of the United States". American Naturalist 4: 562-563.
  4. Leidy, J. (1856). "Notice of some remains of extinct vertebrated animals". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 163-165.
  5. Marsh, O.C. (1893). "Restoration of Anchisaurus". The American Journal of Science. Series 3 45: 169-170.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.