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''Aptychodon'' (meaning "unwrinkled tooth") is an
The holotype consists of incompletely preserved teeth and they were discovered at White Mountain near ''Aptychodon''
in the Paleobiology Database They were then sent to the Prague Museum before von Reuss (1855) described the teeth and created the species ''Aptychodon cretaceius''.
extinct
Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of plesiosaur
The Plesiosauria or plesiosaurs are an Order (biology), order or clade of extinct Mesozoic marine reptiles, belonging to the Sauropterygia.
Plesiosaurs first appeared in the latest Triassic Period (geology), Period, possibly in the Rhaetian st ...
from the Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the more recent of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''cre ...
of the Czech Republic. The type species is ''A. cretaceus''.Sepkoski, J.J. (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". ''Bulletins of American Paleontology'' 363:1-560
Discovery and naming
The holotype consists of incompletely preserved teeth and they were discovered at White Mountain near Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
, Czech Republic.in the Paleobiology Database They were then sent to the Prague Museum before von Reuss (1855) described the teeth and created the species ''Aptychodon cretaceius''.
Description
The teeth of ''Aptychodon'' areconical
In geometry, a cone is a three-dimensional figure that tapers smoothly from a flat base (typically a circle) to a point not contained in the base, called the ''apex'' or '' vertex''.
A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, ...
and curved towards one side despite mostly being straight. They also measure between and in length.
Classification
''Aptychodon'' has been classified as a potential synonym of ''Polyptychodon interruptus'' by later authors. Most authors classify ''Aptychodon'' within a basal position inPlesiosauria
The Plesiosauria or plesiosaurs are an order or clade of extinct Mesozoic marine reptiles, belonging to the Sauropterygia.
Plesiosaurs first appeared in the latest Triassic Period, possibly in the Rhaetian stage, about 203 million year ...
.
See also
*Timeline of plesiosaur research
This timeline of plesiosaur research is a chronologically ordered list of important fossil discoveries, controversies of interpretation, Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic revisions, and cultural portrayals of plesiosaurs, an order of marine reptiles ...
* List of plesiosaur genera
This list of plesiosaurs is a comprehensive listing of all genera that have ever been included in the order Plesiosauria, excluding purely vernacular terms. The list includes all commonly accepted genera, but also genera that are now considered inv ...
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4782273 Cretaceous plesiosaurs of Europe Extinct animals of Europe Fossil taxa described in 1855