''Pectinodon'' is a genus of troodontid dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous period (66

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). It currently contains a single valid species, ''Pectinodon bakkeri'' (sometimes classified as '' Troodon bakkeri''), known only from teeth. In 1982, Kenneth Carpenter named a number of theropod teeth from the late Maastrichtian Lance Formation of Wyoming as the type species ''Pectinodon bakkeri''. The generic name is derived from Latin ''pecten'', "comb", and Greek ὀδών, ''odon'', "tooth", in reference to the comb-like serrations on the rear edge of the teeth. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

honours Robert Thomas Bakker.

History of discovery

The holotype, UCM 38445, consists of a 6.2 mm long adult tooth. The paratypes are three juvenile teeth. In 1985 Lev Nesov named a second species, ''Pectinodon asiamericanus'', based on specimen CCMGE 49/12176, a tooth from the Khodzhakul Formation of Uzbekistan dating from the

Cenomanian The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous Series. An age is a unit of geochronology; it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the s ...

. This is today often considered a ''

nomen dubium In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application. Zoology In case of a ''nomen dubium'' it may be impossible to determine whether a s ...

''. While historically considered synonymous with ''Troodon'' or more specifically the species '' Troodon formosus'', Philip Currie and colleagues (1990) noted that the ''P. bakkeri'' fossils from the Hell Creek Formation and Lance Formation might belong to different species. In 1991, George Olshevsky assigned the Lance formation fossils to the species ''Troodon bakkeri''.Currie, P. (2005). "Theropods, including birds." in Currie and Koppelhus (eds). ''Dinosaur Provincial Park, a spectacular ecosystem revealed, Part Two, Flora and Fauna from the park.'' Indiana University Press, Bloomington. Pp 367–397. In 2011, Zanno and colleagues reviewed the convoluted history of troodontid classification in Late Cretaceous North America. They followed Longrich (2008) in treating ''Pectinodon bakkeri'' as a valid genus, and noted that it is likely the numerous Late Cretaceous specimens currently assigned to ''Troodon formosus'' almost certainly represent numerous new species, but that a more thorough review of the specimens is required. In 2013 Currie and

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concluded that ''Pectinodon bakkeri'' was valid and its teeth could be found both in the Lance Formation and the coeval Hell Creek Formation. Some teeth from the older Campanian Dinosaur Park Formation could not be statistically differentiated from them, likely due to an insufficiently large sample, and were referred to a ''cf. Pectinodon''.Larson D.W., Currie P.J., 2013, "Multivariate Analyses of Small Theropod Dinosaur Teeth and Implications for Paleoecological Turnover through Time", ''PLoS ONE'' 8(1): e54329. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0054329

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4037858 Late Cretaceous dinosaurs of North America Troodontids Fossil taxa described in 1982 Taxa named by Kenneth Carpenter Lance fauna Hell Creek fauna Paleontology in Wyoming Maastrichtian genus first appearances Maastrichtian genus extinctions

History of discovery

See also

References