Sericodon

Sericodon
Temporal range: Tithonian
~157–150 Ma
Referred specimens SMF R 4318 (A) and LMH 16646 (B)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Archosauria
Clade: Pseudosuchia
Clade: Crocodylomorpha
Clade: Crocodyliformes
Suborder: Thalattosuchia
Family: Teleosauridae
Subfamily: Aeolodontinae
Genus: Sericodon
von Meyer, 1845
Species:
S. jugleri
Binomial name
Sericodon jugleri
von Meyer, 1845

Sericodon is an extinct genus of teleosaurid crocodyliform from the Late Jurassic (Tithonian) of Germany and Switzerland. The genus contains a single species, S. jugleri.[1] Sericodon was placed in 'Clade T' (Aeolodontinae) and was found to be the sister taxon to Bathysuchus,[2] another teleosaurid.

Taxonomy[edit]

Sericodon was named for teeth from Late Jurassic deposits in Hanover, Germany, and Solothurn, Switzerland (Reuchenette Formation) by Hermann von Meyer in 1845.[1] The genus was later synonymized with Steneosaurus by Steel (1973),[3] but new work suggests it might be a distinct genus after all.[4]

In 2020 the genus was formally revived.[5]

This simplified cladogram by Johnson et al. (2020) shows the updated location of Sericodon within Teleosauridae and Aeolodontinae:[5]


Thalattosuchia

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Meyer, H, (1845), Note on fossil reptiles: Neües Jahrbuch fur Mineralogie, Geologie und Palaontologie, 1845, p. 308-313.
  2. ^ Schaefer, Püntener & Billon-Bruyat (2018) Schaefer K, Püntener C, Billon-Bruyat J-P. Vertébrés mésozoïques: crocodiliens (Catalogues du patrimoine paléontologique jurassien—A16) Porrentruy : Office de la culture, Paléontologie A16; 2018. p. 184.
  3. ^ Steel, Rodney (1973): Crocodylia. - In: KUHN, Oskar (ed.): Handbuch der Paläoherpetologie. Encyclopedia of Paleoherpetology, 16: 1-116, figs. 1-33; Stuttgart, Portland-USA (Gustav Fischer Verlag).
  4. ^ Foffa D, Johnson MM, Young MT, Steel L, Brusatte SL. 2019. Revision of the Late Jurassic deep-water teleosauroid crocodylomorph Teleosaurus megarhinus Hulke, 1871 and evidence of pelagic adaptations in Teleosauroidea. PeerJ 7:e6646 http://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.6646
  5. ^ a b Johnson, Michela M.; Young, Mark T.; Brusatte, Stephen L. (2020). "The phylogenetics of Teleosauroidea (Crocodylomorpha, Thalattosuchia) and implications for their ecology and evolution". PeerJ. 8: e9808. doi:10.7717/peerj.9808. PMC 7548081. PMID 33083104.