Panderodus

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Panderodus
Temporal range: Middle Ordovician–Late Devonian
Body fossil of Panderodus from the waukesha biota.jpg
A body fossil of Panderodus from the Waukesha biota
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
†Conodonta
Order:
†Conodontophorida
Superfamily:
†
Family:
†Distacodontidae
Genus:
† Panderodus

Ethington, 1959
Type species
†Panderodus denticulatus
Species
  • †Panderodus denticulatus
  • †Panderodus greenlandensis
  • †Panderodus rhamphoides
  • †Panderodus serratus
  • †Panderodus spasovi
  • †Panderodus sulcatus
  • †Panderodus unicostatus

Panderodus Is an extinct genus of jawless fish belonging to the order Conodonta. This genus had a long temporal range, surviving from the middle Ordovician to late Devonian.[1] Recently, extremely rare body fossils of Panderodus from the Waukesha Biota were described, and it revealed that Panderodus had a more thick body compared to the more slender bodies of more advanced conodonts.[2] It also revealed that this conodont was a macrophagous predator, meaning it went after large prey.[2]

Classification[]

Phylogenetic position of Panderodus in relation to other conodonts by Murdock & Smith 2021.
Chordata
 

Gnathostomata

 
 

Cyclostomata

 
†Conodonta
 

†Furnishina

 
 

†

 
 
 

†Cordylodus

 
 
 

†

 
 

†Panderodus

 
 
 

†Paracordylodus

 
 
 

†Promissum

 
 

†Notiodella

 
 
 

†

 
 
 

†Clydagnathus

 
 

†Idiognathodus

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Panderodus is a conodont of the family Distacodontidae. Its closest relative is Curtognathus. This conodont was more primitive then others, unlike other conodonts whose teeth formed into a complex sieve, the teeth of Panderodus were large and shark like. The teeth probably had their own roles, like locking prey into place. Conodonts themselves are an unusual grouping, as for more than a hundred years we only knew of them by their teeth structures.[3] Conodonts are classed in the grouping Agnatha alongside jawless fish like lampreys and hagfish.[4]

Venom[]

Another study found that some species of Panderodus exhibited body parts that would mean they would be venomous. This makes these conodonts some of the earliest known venomous organisms in the fossil record.[5]

References[]

  1. ^ "Panderodus ✝". Mindat.org.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ a b Murdock, Duncan J. E.; Smith, M. Paul (2021). "Panderodus from the Waukesha Lagerstätte of Wisconsin, USA: a primitive macrophagous vertebrate predator". Papers in Palaeontology. 7 (4): 1977–1993. doi:10.1002/spp2.1389. S2CID 237769553.
  3. ^ "Conodonts". Ucl.ac.uk. 2002.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ "What are conodonts?". Australian.museum.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ Szaniawski, Hubert (2009). "The Earliest Known Venomous Animals Recognized Among Conodonts" (PDF). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 54 (4): 669–676. doi:10.4202/app.2009.0045. S2CID 54942826.
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