Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 15, 2026

Belodon

Belodon is a dubious genus of phytosaur, a crocodile-like reptile that lived during the Triassic. Its fossils have been found in Europe, North America, and India. The type species, Belodon plieningeri, was named by prolific German paleontologist Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer in 1844. Its type specimen is based on several teeth.

Last revised
Jul 15, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
307 w
Citations
6
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Belodon
Temporal range: Triassic,
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: †Phytosauria
Family: †Parasuchidae
Genus: †Belodon
von Meyer, 1844
Type species
†Belodon plieningeri
von Meyer, 1844
Other species
  • Belodon lepturus Cope, 1870
  • Belodon scolopax Cope, 1881
  • Belodon validus Marsh, 1893
Synonyms
An outdated reconstruction of Belodon and Aetosaurus. The skull of Belodon is based on Nicrosaurus kapffi, and the carapace on Paratypothorax source ↗

Belodon (meaning "arrow tooth") is a dubious genus of phytosaur, a crocodile-like reptile that lived during the Triassic. Its fossils have been found in Europe, North America, and India. The type species, Belodon plieningeri, was named by prolific German paleontologist Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer in 1844. Its type specimen is based on several teeth.

Many other species were also named, among them Belodon buceros (named by Edward Drinker Cope in 1881),2 Belodon kapffi (von Meyer, 1861), Belodon lepturus (Cope, 1870),3 Belodon priscus (originally described as Compsosaurus priscus by Joseph Leidy in 1856),4 Belodon scolopax (Cope, 1881),2 and Belodon validus (Othniel Charles Marsh, 1893).5 It is now known that phytosaur teeth aren't of taxonomic utility, and thus, Belodon is an invalid species, with several of the specimens referred to it now considered either Mystriosuchus, Machaeroprosopus, or Nicrosaurus.

References

References

  1. "†Belodon Meyer 1844". Paleobiology Database. Fossilworks. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  2. Cope, E.D. (1881). "Belodon in New Mexico". American Naturalist 15: 922-923.
  3. Cope, E.D. (1870). "Reptilia of the Triassic Formation of the United States". American Naturalist 4: 562-563.
  4. Leidy, J. (1856). "Notice of some remains of extinct vertebrated animals". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 163-165.
  5. Marsh, O.C. (1893). "Restoration of Anchisaurus". The American Journal of Science. Series 3 45: 169-170.

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External links


  1. "Triassic Period | Plants, Animals, Major Events, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 2025-01-24. Retrieved 2025-03-21.