Liodon
Sign in to saveLiodon is a dubious genus of mosasaur from the Late Cretaceous, known from fragmentary fossils discovered in St James' Pit, England. Though dubious and of uncertain phylogenetic affinities, Liodon was historically a highly important taxon in mosasaur systematics, being one of the genera on which the family Mosasauridae was based.
Article
4 sectionsContents
- History
- Classification
- See also
- References
Liodon is a dubious genus of mosasaur from the Late Cretaceous, known from fragmentary fossils discovered in St James' Pit, England. Though dubious and of uncertain phylogenetic affinities, Liodon was historically a highly important taxon in mosasaur systematics, being one of the genera on which the family Mosasauridae was based.
== History == left|thumb|Moroccan mosasaur fossil erroneously assigned to Liodon anceps. Moroccan fossils classified as Liodon typically belong to Eremiasaurus or [[Thalassotitan.]] Liodon anceps was first described as "Leiodon anceps" by Richard Owen in 1841, based only on two tooth fragments and a minor portion of the corresponding jaw bone discovered in Essex, England. The name Leiodon derived from the Greek leios ("smooth") and -odon ("tooth"), meaning "smooth tooth" on account of the "smooth and polished surface" of the fossil teeth. The specific name anceps means "two-edged", referencing the carinae (cutting edges) on both the front and back of the teeth. In 1845, Owen noted that the teeth he assigned to Leiodon were more reminiscent of those of Mosasaurus than any other reptile and in 1851 placed both genera in the new clade Natantia within the suborder Lacertilia.