Pliogonodon
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous
Illustration of type specimen, 1858
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Sauropsida
(unranked):
Crurotarsi
Order:
Crocodylomorpha
(unranked):
Neosuchia
Family:
incertae sedis
Genus:
Pliogonodon

Species
  • P. priscus Leidy, 1856 (type)

Pliogonodon is an extinct genus of crocodylomorph. The type species, P. priscus, was named by Joseph Leidy in 1856. The holotype, known as USNM 7448, is a worn and broken tooth found from Phoebus Landing on the Cape Fear River in North Carolina.[1] Although the age of the strata in which the tooth was found was not recorded, it is thought to have come from Miocene-age beds.[2] The holotype and another tooth found at the same location are all that is known from the genus. The genus is considered a nomen dubium because of the lack of diagnostic features possessed by the teeth, and has been suggested to be synonymous with the alligatoroid Deinosuchus.[3] Although Carroll (1988) assigned the genus to the basal neosuchian family Goniopholididae,[4] current consensus is that Pligonodon is a Deinosuchus specimen.[5]

The two teeth are conical and curve slightly inward, estimated to be around 2 inches (5.1 cm) in length if they had been fully preserved. The enamel is wrinkled and the base of the crowns are hollow.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Miller, H. W. (1967). "Cretaceous Vertebrates from Phoebus Landing, North Carolina". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 119 (1967): 219–239.
  2. 1 2 Mook, C. C. (1925). "A revision of the Mesozoic Crocodilia of North America". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 51: 319–432.
  3. ↑ "Deinosuchus". Paleofile. Retrieved 2009-12-09.
  4. ↑ Carroll, R. L. (1988). Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company. pp. 1–698. ISBN 9780716718222.
  5. ↑ http://www.elasmo.com/frameMe.html?file=paleo/blkcrk/nc_cret.html&menu=bin/menu_fauna-alt.html


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