Metaceratodus

Metaceratodus; Temporal range: Late Triassic-Late Cretaceous, ; 221.5–66 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Norian-Maastrichtian
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Dipnoi
Order:	Ceratodontiformes
Family:	†Ceratodontidae
Genus:	†Metaceratodus; Chapman, 1914
Species
	See text

Metaceratodus is an extinct genus of prehistoric lungfish in the family Ceratodontidae, with an indeterminate specimen known from the Late Triassic (Norian)-aged Lissauer Breccia of Poland^[1] and more complete specimens known from the Late Cretaceous of Queensland, Australia and Argentina (Malargue Group).^[2]^[3]^[4] The genus was named and described by Frederick Chapman in 1914.^[5]^[6]

Species

The seven identified species of Metaceratodus are listed below, while an eighth unnamed species is known from Poland:^[7]

cf. Metaceratodus sp.
Metaceratodus baibianorum
Metaceratodus bonei
Metaceratodus ellioti
Metaceratodus kaopen (=Ptychoceratodus kaopen, P. cionei)
Metaceratodus palmeri
Metaceratodus wichmanni (=Ceratodus wichmanni)
Metaceratodus wollastoni

Palaeobiology

Palaeopathology

Of 127 analysed specimens of M. baibianorum from the La Colonia Formation of Patagonia, 27.5% showed signs of some form of dental pathology such as caries, abscess, hyperplasia, fracture, erosion, and alteration in growth, though none showed signs of attrition, osteopenia, parasitic invasions. Some specimens exhibiting caries on the occlusal surface also show signs of reparative dentine growth, indicating that dipnoans could produce tertiary dentine in response to injuries to the tooth.^[8]

References

↑ Czepiński, Ł.; Dróżdż, D.; Szczygielski, T.; Tałanda, M.; Pawlak, W.; Lewczuk, A.; Rytel, A.; Sulej, T. (2021). "An Upper Triassic Terrestrial Vertebrate Assemblage from the Forgotten Kocury Locality (Poland) with a New Aetosaur Taxon". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 41 (1) e1898977. Bibcode:2021JVPal..41E8977C. doi:10.1080/02724634.2021.1898977. S2CID 233522981.
↑ "Fossilworks: Metaceratodus". fossilworks.org. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
↑ Kemp, A. (16 April 1997). "Four species of Metaceratodus (Osteichthyes: Dipnoi, Family Ceratodontidae) from Australian Mesozoic and Cenozoic deposits". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 17 (1): 26–33. Bibcode:1997JVPal..17...26K. doi:10.1080/02724634.1997.10010949. ISSN 0272-4634.
↑ Gonzalez Riga, B. J. (1999). Hallazgo de vertebrados fósiles en la Formación Loncoche, Cretácico Superior de la provincia de Mendoza, Argentina. Ameghiniana 36:401-410
↑ Chapman, F. (1914). Australasian Fossils. A Students' Manual of Palaeontology 1-341
↑ Chapman, F. (1914) Australian Fossils. Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and London. Project Gutenberg eBook 59074
↑ "Fossilworks: Metaceratodus". fossilworks.org. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
↑ Panzeri, Karen M.; Muñoz, Nahuel A. (3 April 2022). "Metaceratodus baibianorum from the La Colonia Formation: tooth plate anomalies and the possible presence of tertiary dentine". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. 46 (2): 198–207. doi:10.1080/03115518.2022.2078882. ISSN 0311-5518. Retrieved 7 January 2026 – via Taylor and Francis Online.