''Saurodon'' (from el, σαῦρος , 'lizard' and el, ὀδούς 'tooth') is an extinct genus of

ichthyodectiform Ichthyodectiformes is an extinct order of marine stem-teleost ray-finned fish. The order is named after the genus ''Ichthyodectes'', established by Edward Drinker Cope in 1870. Ichthyodectiforms are usually considered to be some of the closest r ...

fish from the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

. ''Saurodon leanus'' is known to occur as early as the late

Coniacian The Coniacian is an age or stage in the geologic timescale. It is a subdivision of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series and spans the time between 89.8 ± 1 Ma and 86.3 ± 0.7 Ma (million years ago). The Coniacian is preceded b ...

through the

Santonian The Santonian is an age in the geologic timescale or a chronostratigraphic stage. It is a subdivision of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 86.3 ± 0.7 mya (million years ago) and 83.6 ± 0.7 mya. ...

, in the

Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger 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 ''creta'', ...

. It was a large, predatory fish, with a length of more than . ''S. elongatus'' from Calcari di Melissano had length only around .

Species

* ''Saurodon elongatus'' Taverne & Bronzi, 1999 * '''Saurodon' intermedius'' Newton, 1878 * ''Saurodon leanus'' Hays, 1830

Sources

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' by the American Ichthyology, ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011) is a standard reference for fish systematics. Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of the diversity and classificat ...

by Joseph S. Nelson

References

External links

* Ichthyodectiformes Late Cretaceous fish of North America Fossil taxa described in 1830 Mooreville Chalk {{paleo-rayfinned-fish-stub