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