Ceratodus

Ceratodus
Temporal range: 228โ€“70Ma

Middle Triassic-Late Cretaceous

Illustration of Ceratodus by Heinrich Harder
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

Gallery

References