Ceratodus (from Ancient Greek:κέρας,romanized:kéras,lit.'horn' and ὀδούς,odoús,'tooth') 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:

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

  • Ceratodus tooth plates
  • Ceratodus reconstruction
  • at The Paleobiology Database