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PYCNODUS
(pik-noe-dus)
meaning: "crowded teeth"
Pycnodus
Named By: Agassiz in 1835
Time Period: Late Cretaceous-Lutetian
Location: Across Europe, also known from north and east Africa, Saudi Arabia and India
Size: Roughly about 12 centimetres long, some variation between species
Diet: Carnivore
Fossil(s): Multiple individuals
Classification: | Chordata | Actinopterygii | Pycnodontiformes | Pycnodontidae |
About

Pycnodus (from Greek for crowded teeth) is an extinct genus of ray-finned fish ranging from the Cretaceous to Eocene periods. As its name suggests, it is the type genus of Pycnodontiformes.

The known whole fossils of Pycnodus are around 12 centimetres (5 in) long, and have a superficial resemblance to angelfish or butterflyfish. The animals, as typical of all other pycnodontids, had many knob-like teeth, forming pavements in the jaws with which to break and crush hard food substances, probably mollusks and echinoderms. These teeth are the most common form of fossil.

Pycnodus fossils have been found in present-day India, Northern Africa, Belgium, England, and Italy, regions corresponding with the Tethys Ocean.

Read more about Pycnodus at Wikipedia
PaleoCodex is a weekend hack by Saurav Mohapatra