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Leiodon

Reptilia - Mosasauridae

Taxonomy
Leiodon was named by Owen (1842) [Non Swainson (1839), non Wood (1839); Sepkoski's age data: K Ceno-u K Maes].

It was corrected as Liodon by Agassiz (1846), Russell (1967) and Carroll (1988); it was synonymized subjectively with Tylosaurus by Hay (1902); it was considered a nomen dubium by Schulp et al. (2008) and Mateus et al. (2012).

It was assigned to Saurii by Meyer (1845) and Agassiz (1846); to Lacertinidae by d'Orbigny (1849); to Natantia by Owen (1851); to Lacertilia by Owen (1842) and Owen (1861); to Pythonomorpha by Hector (1874); to Mosasaurini by Russell (1967); to Mosasauridae by Gervais (1853) and Carroll (1988); to Squamata by Sepkoski (2002); and to Mosasaurinae by Martin and Crame (2006).

Synonymy list
YearName and author
1842Leiodon Owen p. 144
1845Leiodon Meyer p. 283
1846Liodon Agassiz
1849Leiodon d'Orbigny p. 209
1851Leiodon Owen p. 41
1853Leiodon Gervais p. 471
1861Leiodon Owen p. 312
1874Leiodon Hector p. 337
1967Liodon Russell p. 142
1988Liodon Carroll
2002Leiodon Sepkoski
2006Leiodon Martin and Crame p. 113

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
Bilateria
EubilateriaAx 1987
Life
Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
RankNameAuthor
Tetrapoda
Reptiliomorpha
Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
Cotylosauria()
Amniota
Sauropsida
classReptilia
Squamata()
familyMosasauridae
subfamilyMosasaurinaeGervais 1853
genusLeiodon

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

G. †Leiodon Owen 1842
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Leiodon anceps Owen 1841
Leiodon lundgreni Schröder 1885
Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
J. Hector 1874"This genus was distinguished from Mosasaurus by Owen, by the form of the teeth, which are smooth, curved, and slightly compressed, so that in section they show an ellipse sharply pointed at both ends, and also by the mode of attachment of the teeth to the jaw bone. According to Professor Cope, it is abundant in America, being a characteristic fossil of the cretaceous formation, four species having been obtained from the western, four from the eastern, and two from the southern, cretaceous rocks of the United States; while the only other known species is represented by the jaw fragments found in Europe, and described by Professor Owen. The characters of the vertebrae show it to have been an exceedingly elongated reptile, one of the American species, the individual bones of which are not larger than those now to be described from the Amuri, having belonged to an animal which was not much short of 100 feet in length."
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: phosphaticsubp
Environment: terrestrialuc
Locomotion: actively mobilec
Life habit: aquaticf
Diet: carnivoref
Vision: well-developedf
Reproduction: ovoviviparousf
Created: 2018-01-05 16:32:54
Modified: 2018-01-05 16:32:54
Source: f = family, c = class, subp = subphylum, uc = unranked clade
References: Carroll 1988, Gervais 1852, Hendy et al. 2009

Age range: base of the Early/Lower Valanginian to the top of the Late/Upper Maastrichtian or 140.20000 to 66.00000 Ma

Collections (13 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Early/Lower Valanginian140.2 - 136.4United Kingdom (England) L. sp. (91990)
Cenomanian100.5 - 93.9Germany Liodon anceps (138006)
Early/Lower Campanian83.5 - 70.6Sweden (Skane) L. anceps (106409)
Late/Upper Campanian83.5 - 70.6France Liodon anceps (59676)
Late/Upper Campanian - Early/Lower Maastrichtian83.5 - 66.0Syria L. anceps (117849 117850 117852 117853 117854 117855 117857)
Late/Upper Maastrichtian70.6 - 66.0Jordan Liodon anceps (170239)
Late/Upper Maastrichtian70.6 - 66.0Ukraine L. sp. (142786)