''Palaeoctonus'' is an extinct
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of
archosaur (possibly
phytosaur
Phytosaurs (Φυτόσαυροι in greek) are an extinct group of large, mostly semiaquatic Late Triassic archosauriform reptiles. Phytosaurs belong to the order Phytosauria. Phytosauria and Phytosauridae are often considered to be equivalent g ...
) known only from isolated teeth. The name is derived from Greek (''palaios'' meaning "ancient", -''ktonos'' meaning "killer"). The genus is believed to have flourished during the Upper (Late)
Triassic
The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Year#Abbreviations yr and ya, Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 ...
period.
External links
list of dinosaur namessupplementary information
Phytosaurs
Late Triassic reptiles of North America
Prehistoric reptile genera
Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope
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