''Phoebodus'' is an extinct genus of phoebodontiform

total group In phylogenetics, the crown group or crown assemblage is a collection of species composed of the living representatives of the collection, the most recent common ancestor of the collection, and all descendants of the most recent common ancestor. ...

elasmobranch Elasmobranchii () is a subclass of Chondrichthyes or cartilaginous fish, including modern sharks ( division Selachii), and batomorphs (division Batomorphi, including rays, skates, and sawfish). Members of this subclass are characterised by h ...

, known from over a dozen species found worldwide spanning the middle to late

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a period (geology), geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era during the Phanerozoic eon (geology), eon, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian per ...

, making it one of the oldest known total group elasmobranchs. Most species are only known from their isolated tricuspid teeth, but one species, ''Phoebodus saidselachus'' from the Late Devonian of Morocco, is known from a complete skeleton, estimated to have been in total length in life, which shows that it had a slender body superficially similar to that of the living

frilled shark The frilled shark (''Chlamydoselachus anguineus''), also known as the lizard shark, is one of the two extant taxon, extant species of shark in the family (biology), family Chlamydoselachidae (the other is the southern African frilled shark, ''Ch ...

. The teeth of ''Phoebodus'' and frilled sharks are also morphologically similar, and are designed for grasping prey. ''Phoebodus'' probably consumed small prey items that were capable of being swallowed whole.

Species

After Ivanov, 2021 * ''Phoebodus sophiae'' St. John & Worthen, 1875 (type). Australia, Iran, Mauritania, Poland, Spain, Portugal, United States (Indiana, Iowa, New York), Russia (Siberia). Middle Devonian (

Givetian The Givetian is one of two faunal stages in the Middle Devonian Period. It lasted from million years ago to million years ago. It was preceded by the Eifelian Stage and followed by the Frasnian Stage. It is named after the town of Givet in ...

) * ''Phoebodus fastigatus'' Ginter & Ivanov, 1992. Australia, Mauritania, Morocco, Russia (Urals), Poland, Spain, United States (New York, Iowa, Utah, Indiana). Middle-Late Devonian (Givetian-upper

Frasnian The Frasnian is one of two faunal stages in the Late Devonian Period. It lasted from million years ago to million years ago. It was preceded by the Givetian Stage and followed by the Famennian Stage. Major reef-building was under way during ...

) * ''Phoebodus curvatus'' Ivanov, 2021. Russia (Urals), Poland, Australia. Middle-Late Devonian (upper Givetian-upper Frasnian) * ''Phoebodus latus'' Ginter & Ivanov, 1995. Australia, Russia (Urals, Siberia), Poland, Iran. Middle-Late Devonian (latest Givetian-upper Frasnian) * ''Phoebodus bifurcatus'' Ginter & Ivanov, 1992. Australia, China, Mauritania, Iran, Poland, Czechia, Belgium, United States (Utah), Russia (Urals). Late Devonian (upper Frasnian) * ''Phoebodus typicus'' Ginter & Ivanov, 1995. Australia, Morocco, Iran, Russia (Urals, Siberia). Late Devonian (lower-mid

Famennian The Famennian is the later of two faunal stages in the Late Devonian epoch. The most recent estimate for its duration is that it lasted from around 371.1 to 359.3 million years ago. An earlier 2012 estimate, still used by the International Commis ...

), forms labelled ''P.'' cf. ''typicus'' occur in the middle Famennian of Belarus and Armenia, and the upper Famennian of Siberia * ''Phoebodus rayi'' Ginter & Turner, 1999. Australia, Canada, Iran. Late Devonian (lower-mid

), forms labelled ''P.'' cf. ''typicus'' occur in Iran and Lithuania, ranging into the early late Fammenian * ''Phoebodus turnerae'' Ginter & Ivanov, 1992 Algeria, Armenia, Belarus, Belgium, Iran, Poland, Morocco, United States (Alaska). Late Devonian (Famennian) * ''Phoebodus gothicus'' Ginter, 1990. Russia (Urals), Iran, Armenia, Algeria, Morocco, Germany, France, Poland, United States (Ohio, Utah, Iowa), south China. Late Devonian (Famennian) * ''Phoebodus depressus'' Ginter, Hairapetian & Klug, 2002. Algeria. Late Devonian (lower-mid

), ''P.'' cf. ''depressus'' is known from Iran * ''Phoebodus saidselachus'' Frey et al. 2019. Morocco. Late Devonian (early-mid Famennian) * ''Phoebodus limpidus'' Ginter, 1990. Italy, south China, Russia (Urals, North Caucasus), Morocco, Poland, France, Germany, United States (Nevada, Wyoming, Utah). Late Devonian (mid-upper Famennian) * ''Phoebodus politus'' Newberry, 1889. United States (Ohio). Late Devonian (upper Famennian) Supposed species in this genus from the Triassic, like "''Phoebodus" brodiei,'' and "''Phoebodus" keuperinus'' are now placed in the genus '' Keuperodus'' in the family Jalodontidae.

Species

References

Further reading