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Ceratodus

Ceratodus (from and ) is an extinct genus of freshwater lungfish that was found worldwide during the Mesozoic Era. It has been described as a "catch all", and a "form genus" used to refer to the remains (typically toothplates) of a variety of lungfish belonging to the extinct family Ceratodontidae. Fossil evidence dates back to the Early Triassic. A wide range of fossil species from different time periods have been found around the world in places such as the United States, Argentina, Greenland, England, Germany, Egypt, Madagascar, China, and Australia. Ceratodus is believed to have become extinct sometime around the beginning of the Eocene Epoch.

Species

The following species are known:

  • C. latissimus <small>Agassiz, 1837</small> (type species) - Late Triassic (Rhaetian) of England (Westbury Formation)
  • C. eruciferus <small>Cope, 1876 (nomen dubium)</small>
  • C. robustus <small>Knight, 1898</small> - Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian/Tithonian) of Wyoming, US (Morrison Formation)
  • C. africanus <small>Haug, 1905</small>
  • C. avus <small>W. H. Ferguson 1906</small> - Early Cretaceous (Aptian) of Victoria, Australia (Wonthaggi Formation)
  • C. humei <small>Priem, 1914</small> - Late Cretaceous (Campanian) of Egypt (Mut Formation)
  • C. elegans <small>Vollrath, 1923</small>
  • C. frazieri <small>Ostrom, 1970</small> - Early Cretaceous (Aptian/Albian) of Wyoming & Montana, US (Cloverly Formation), potentially Campanian of New Jersey, US (Mount Laurel Formation)
  • C. gustasoni <small>Kirkland, 1987</small> - Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) of Utah, US (Naturita Formation)
  • C. fossanovum <small>Kirkland, 1998</small>
  • C. stewarti <small>Milner & Kirkland, 2006</small> - Early Jurassic (Hettangian to Sinemurian) of Utah, US (Moenave and Kayenta Formations)
  • C. texanus<small> Parris et al., 2011</small> - Aptian/Albian of Texas, US (Antlers and Twin Mountains Formations)
  • C. carteri <small> Main et al., 2014</small> - Cenomanian of Texas, US (Woodbine Formation)
  • C. kranzi <small> Frederickson et al., 2016</small> - Albian of Maryland, US (Arundel Formation)
  • C. kirklandi <small>Frederickson & Cifelli, 2016</small> - Early Cretaceous (Valanginian) of Utah, US (Cedar Mountain Formation)
  • C. molossus <small>Frederickson & Cifelli, 2016</small> - Cenomanian of Utah, US (Cedar Mountain Formation)
  • C. kempae <small>Frederickson & Cifelli, 2016</small> - Valanginian of Utah, US (Cedar Mountain Formation)
  • C. nirumbee <small>Frederickson & Cifelli, 2016</small> - Albian of Montana, US (Cloverly Formation)
  • C. tunuensis <small>Agnolin et al., 2018</small> - Late Triassic (Norian) of Greenland (Fleming Fjord Formation)
  • C. guanganensis <small>Wang et al., 2022</small> - Late Jurassic of China (Shaximiao Formation)
  • C. shishkini <small>Minikh, 2023</small> - Middle/Late Triassic (Ladinian/Carnian) of Orenburg, Russia

Palaeoecology

Ceratodus likely fed on bivalves, as scarring on the shells of non-marine bivalves from a clay pit near Lipie Śląskie in southern Poland has been attributed to an unsuccessful predatory attack by Ceratodus.

Gallery

References