Centemodon

Centemodon
Temporal range: Late Triassic, 221–218 Ma
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Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Archosauromorpha
Clade: Archosauriformes
Order: †Phytosauria
Genus: †Centemodon
Lea, 1856
Type species
†Centemodon sulcatus
Lea, 1856[1]
Synonyms

Centemodon (meaning "point tooth") is an extinct genus of basal[2] phytosaur from the Late Triassic Period. It lived in what is now Pennsylvania, United States.[2] It is classified as a nomen dubium.[3] It was found in the Red Sandstone Formation near the Schuyklill River.[4] Centemodon may have been related to Suchoprion. It was a small phytosaur, weighing no more than 200 kilograms (440 lb) when fully grown.[2]

Discovery and naming

Sometime before the Bone Wars, a palaeontologist known as Dr. Leo (surname unknown) discovered several fossil fragmentary teeth that later became the Centemodon holotype.[2] When Leo described the fragments, he was unsure of what they belonged to, and Leo did not name the fragments. They were eventually named in 1856 by Isaac Lea.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Lea, I. 1856. Description of Centemodon sulcatus. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 10: pp. 77-78.
  2. ^ a b c d "Centemodon: Prehistoric World". m.prehistoric-world7.webnode.cz.
  3. ^ Centemodon in the Dinosaur On-Line Omnipedia
  4. ^ Centemodon at Paleofile.org


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