Sericodon

Sericodon Temporal range: Tithonian ~157–150  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Referred specimens SMF R 4318 (A) and LMH 16646 (B)
Scientific 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

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	Metriorhynchoidea Teleosauroidea Plagiophthalmosuchus Machimosauridae Teleosauridae Indosinosuchus kalasinensis Chinese teleosauroid Mystriosaurus Indosinosuchus potamosiamensis Teleosaurinae Teleosaurus Platysuchus Aeolodontinae Mycterosuchus Aeolodon Sericodon Bathysuchus

See also

• Paleontology portal

• List of marine reptiles

References

1. 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. 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.