Aptychodon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:Automatic taxobox

Aptychodon (meaning "unwrinkled tooth") is an extinct genus of plesiosaur from the Late Cretaceous of the Czech Republic. The type species is A. cretaceus.[1]

Discovery and naming

File:Aptychodon teeth 1.png
Teeth from the holotype of Aptychodon cretaceus.

The holotype consists of incompletely preserved teeth and they were discovered at White Mountain near Prague, Czech Republic.[2][3] They were then sent to the Prague Museum before von Reuss (1855) described the teeth and created the species Aptychodon cretaceius.[3]

Description

The teeth of Aptychodon are conical and curved towards one side despite mostly being straight. They also measure between Script error: No such module "convert". and Script error: No such module "convert". in length.[3]

Classification

Aptychodon has been classified as a potential synonym of Polyptychodon interruptus by later authors.[1] Most authors classify Aptychodon within a basal position in Plesiosauria.

See also

References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

  1. a b Sepkoski, J.J. (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology 363:1-560
  2. Aptychodon in the Paleobiology Database
  3. a b c Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Template:Taxonbar

Template:Plesiosaur-stub