Rhizodus

Rhizodus (root tooth) is an extinct genus of fish in the clade Sarcopterygii.

Rhizodus
Temporal range: Carboniferous
Fossil tooth of Rhizodus hibberti
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: †Rhizodontida
Family: †Rhizodontidae
Genus: †Rhizodus
Owen, 1840
Species:
†R. hibberti
Binomial name
†Rhizodus hibberti
Owen, 1840

Description
Restoration

The most notable characteristics of Rhizodus, compared to other giant lobe-fins such as Barameda, were the two 22 centimetres (8.7 in) fangs located near the front of its jaws,[1] followed by other teeth scaling downwards in size. Rhizodus was a giant apex predator that resided in freshwater lakes, river systems and large swamps in the entire Carboniferous period, feeding on small to medium-sized amphibians, using its teeth to kill prey and rip it into digestible sizes, rather than swallowing prey whole like other, smaller-toothed sarcopterygians.[2]

Fossil skin imprints show that Rhizodus had large, plate-like scales, similar to those found on modern day arapaima.[3]

Diet

Rhizodus' diet includes medium sized fish and tetrapods. It has been proposed that Rhizodus may have lunged at terrestrial, shorebound prey, just like a modern-day crocodile.[3]

References
  1. "Rhizodus hibberti". www.europeana.eu. Archived from the original on 2014-11-29.
  2. http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/geofinder/search/item.php?record=NEWHM:2004.H206 at the Wayback Machine (archived 2014-11-29)
  3. "3.4 Rhizodus". www.ucl.ac.uk. Retrieved 29 April 2019.


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