''Bdellodus'' is an extinct genus of
hybodont from the
Early Jurassic epoch of the
Jurassic Period. The name roughly translates to "Leech Tooth."
Friedrich August von Quenstedt
Friedrich August von Quenstedt (July 10, 1809 – December 21, 1889), was a German geologist and palaeontologist.
Life
Von Quenstedt was born at Eisleben in Saxony, and educated at the Humboldt University of Berlin. After a period as assistant ...
named them this due to their "coal-black" color which he associated with
leech
Leeches are segmented parasitic or predatory worms that comprise the subclass Hirudinea within the phylum Annelida. They are closely related to the oligochaetes, which include the earthworm, and like them have soft, muscular segmented bodie ...
es. It is monotypic, containing only the species ''B. bollensis''. It is known from the
Toarcian
The Toarcian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, an age and stage in the Early or Lower Jurassic. It spans the time between 182.7 Ma (million years ago) and 174.1 Ma. It follows the Pliensbachian and is followed by the Aalenian.
The Toarcian ...
of
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. It was named on an associated dentition. It is often placed in the subfamily Acrodontinae alongside other
durophagous hybodontids.
[QUENSTEDT, F.A. (1882) Bdellodus bollensis aus dem Posidonienschiefer bei Boll. Jahreshefte des Vereins für vaterländische Naturkunde in Württemberg, 38: 137–142, pl. 3.]
References
Early Jurassic fish
Jurassic sharks
Hybodontiformes
Prehistoric shark genera
{{paleo-shark-stub