''Apateodus'' (meaning "confusing tooth") is a genus of prehistoric

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

which was described by Woodward in 1901. The genus spans from the

Albian The Albian is both an age of the geologic timescale and a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is the youngest or uppermost subdivision of the Early/Lower Cretaceous Epoch/Series. Its approximate time range is 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma to 100.5 ± 0.9 M ...

to the late

Maastrichtian The Maastrichtian () is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the latest age (uppermost stage) of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series, the Cretaceous Period or System, and of the Mesozoic Era or Erathem. It spanned the interval from ...

, and specimens have been found in Russia, India, the United States (Colorado, Dakota, Kansas), and the Netherlands.

Description

Known by well preserved skull remains, ''Apateodus'' is estimated to be around 1 meter (3.3ft) in length, and would have been an effective

mesopredator A Mesopredator is a mid-ranking predator in a trophic level, which typically prey on smaller animals. Mesopredators often vary in ecosystems depending on the food web. While there is no definitive measurement for mesopredators, they are usually ref ...

References

http://paleodb.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?action=checkTaxonInfo&taxon_no=35555&is_real_user=1 Prehistoric aulopiformes Prehistoric ray-finned fish genera Extinct animals of India Extinct animals of Russia Cretaceous bony fish Fossil taxa described in 1901 Late Cretaceous fish of Asia {{Aulopiformes-stub