''Cladodus'' is an extinct genus of

cartilaginous fish Chondrichthyes (; ) is a class that contains the cartilaginous fishes that have skeletons primarily composed of cartilage. They can be contrasted with the Osteichthyes or ''bony fishes'', which have skeletons primarily composed of bone tissue ...

es in the family

Cladoselachidae Cladoselachidae is an extinct family of holocephalian cartilaginous fishes closely related to Symmoriiformes Symmoriiformes is an extinct order of holocephalians. Originally named Symmoriida by Zangerl (1981), it has subsequently been known by ...

. As the

name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A personal ...

implies, they are a type of

cladodont This is a typical Cladodont tooth, of a shark called ''Glikmanius''">Glikmanius.html" ;"title="shark called ''Glikmanius">shark called ''Glikmanius'' Cladodont (from Latin cladus, meaning branch and Greek Odon, meaning tooth) is the term for a com ...

, primitive

sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimorp ...

with

teeth A tooth ( : teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, tear ...

designed to snag fish and

swallow The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae, are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The ...

them whole, instead of sawing off chunks to swallow. Fossils of ''Cladodus'' have been found in

Barkip Barkip, also known as The Den, is a hamlet in North Ayrshire, Scotland about southwest of Beith on the A737 road to Dalry. The earliest recorded name is 'Blairkip'.

, Scotland and in the

Pitkin Formation The Pitkin Formation, or Pitkin Limestone, is a fossiliferous geologic formation in northern Arkansas that dates to the Chesterian Series of the late Mississippian. This formation was first named the "Archimedes Limestone" by David Dale Owen in ...

(

Carboniferous period The Carboniferous ( ) is a Period (geology), geologic period and System (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago (Myr, Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, ...

) in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

, United States. In addition, fossils attributable to ''Cladodus'' are known from the

Manning Canyon Shale The Manning Canyon Shale is a geologic formation in Utah. It preserves fossils dating back to the Carboniferous period. See also * List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Utah * Paleontology in Utah The location of the state of Utah Pal ...

of Carboniferous age in the state of

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

Species

*†''Cladodus alternatus'' St. John & Worthen, 1875 *†''Cladodus angulatus'' Newberry & Worthen, 1866 *†''Cladodus bellifer'' St. John & Worthen, 1875 *†''Cladodus divaricatus'' Trautschold, 1874 *†''Cladodus elegans'' Newberry & Worthen, 1870 Remains (braincase and a tooth) have been found in Scotland (

Clackmannan Group The Clackmannan Group is the name given to a suite of rocks of late Dinantian and Namurian age laid down during the Carboniferous period in the Midland Valley of Scotland. Description The Group comprises a lower unit of coarse sandstones, sil ...

). *†''Cladodus eriensis'' Bryant, 1935 *†''Cladodus formosus'' Hay, 1902 *†''Cladodus gailensis'' Feichtinger ''et al.'', 2021 *†''Cladodus marginatus'' Agassiz, 1843 *†''Cladodus mirabilis'' Agassiz, 1843 (type species) *†''Cladodus pandatus'' St. John & Worthen, 1875 *†''Cladodus springeri'' St. John & Worthen, 1875 *†''Cladodus vanhornei'' St. John & Worthen, 1875 *†''Cladodus yunnanensis'' Pan, 1964

References

Prehistoric cartilaginous fish genera Mississippian fish of North America Elasmobranchii Taxa named by Louis Agassiz Fossil taxa described in 1843 Carboniferous fish of Europe Fossils of Austria {{Paleo-cartilaginous-fish-stub