Sericodon

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.

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

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.