Syntomodus

Syntomodus
Temporal range: Permian Lopingian
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Order: Eugeneodontiformes
Family: Edestidae
Genus: Syntomodus
Species:
S. abbreviatus
Binomial name
Syntomodus abbreviatus
Obruchev, 1964
Synonyms

Syntomotus abbreviatus Ginter et al. 2010

Syntomodus is an extinct genus of eugeneodont from the Late Permian of Russia. The genus includes a single species, S. abbreviatus, which is known only from a single, poorly preserved set of four teeth. The species may belong to the family Edestidae.[1][2]

Discovery

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The holotype specimen of Syntomodus was discovered in a Lopingian-stage deposit in the Yana River Basin of Sakha Republic, Russia. The taxon was named and described by researcher Dmitry Vladimirovich Obruchev.[1][3]

Description

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The only known specimen of Syntomodus is incomplete and has been described as poorly preserved.[1] The teeth are triangular and blade-like, and because of their state of preservation it is unclear if they are angled forwards or backwards. In life they were positioned along the midline, or symphysis, of the jaw.[1][2]

Classification

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Syntomodus is presumed to be a member of the family Edestidae, although because the direction its teeth were angled (a characteristic which distinguishes Edestidae and Helicoprionidae) is unclear this assignment is tentative.[1][2] In 1981 publication, researcher Rainer Zangerl proposed that Syntomodus is the most basal edestid if it is included in that family.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Ginter, Michał; Hampe, Oliver; Duffin, Christopher J. (2010). Handbook of paleoichthyology: teeth. München: F. Pfeil. p. 132. ISBN 978-3-89937-116-1.
  2. ^ a b c d Zangerl, Rainer (1981). Chondrichthyes 1: Paleozoic Elasmobranchii (Handbook of Paleoichthyology). Friedrich Pfell (published January 1, 1981). pp. 2–3, 74–94. ISBN 978-3899370454.
  3. ^ Obroucheva, Natalie V. (2014). "Dmitry Vladimirovich Obruchev: Life and destiny (1900–1970)". Paleontological Journal. 48 (9): 950–963. doi:10.1134/S0031030114090093. ISSN 0031-0301.