Centemodon (meaning "point tooth") is an extinct genus of basal phytosaur from the Late Triassic Period. It lived in what is now Pennsylvania, United States. It is classified as a nomen dubium. It was found in the Red Sandstone Formation near the Schuyklill River. Centemodon may have been related to Suchoprion. It was a small phytosaur, weighing no more than when fully grown.

Discovery and naming

Sometime before the Bone Wars, a palaeontologist known as Dr. Leo (surname unknown) discovered several fossil fragmentary teeth that later became the Centemodon holotype. When Leo described the fragments, he was unsure of what they belonged to, and Leo did not name the fragments. They were eventually named in 1856 by Isaac Lea.

Centemodon

References

Phytosaurs

Prehistoric reptile genera

Late Triassic reptiles of North America

Triassic geology of Pennsylvania

Paleontology in Pennsylvania

Nomina dubia

Fossil taxa described in 1856

Taxa named by Isaac Lea

Centemodon