Named By: | Louis Agassiz in 1837 |
Time Period: | 228-55 Ma Late Triassic-Eocene |
Location: | Worldwide |
Size: | Up to 60 centimetres long |
Diet: | Possibly omnivorous |
Fossil(s): | Numerous specimens |
Classification: | | Chordata | Sarcopterygii | Ceratodontiformes | Ptychoceratodontidae | |
Also known as: | | Polyporites browni | Ptychoceratodus guentheri | |
Ceratodus (Greek for "horned tooth") was a wide-ranging genus of extinct lungfish. Fossil evidence dates back to the Late Triassic 228 million years ago. A wide range of fossil species from different time periods have been found around the world in places such as the United States, Argentina, England, Germany, Egypt, Madagascar, China, and Australia. Ceratodus is believed to have become extinct sometime around the beginning of the Eocene Epoch. The closest living relative of Ceratodus is thought to be the Queensland lungfish, Neoceratodus forsteri, which means "new Ceratodus" in Greek.