Metaceratodus

{{Short description|Extinct genus of fishes}} {{Italic title}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = | fossil_range = Late Triassic-Late Cretaceous, <br />{{fossilrange|221.5|66|earliest=Norian}} Norian-Maastrichtian | taxon = Metaceratodus | authority = Chapman, 1914 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = 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<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Czepiński |first1=Ł. |last2=Dróżdż |first2=D. |last3=Szczygielski |first3=T. |last4=Tałanda |first4=M. |last5=Pawlak |first5=W. |last6=Lewczuk |first6=A. |last7=Rytel |first7=A. |last8=Sulej |first8=T. |title=An Upper Triassic Terrestrial Vertebrate Assemblage from the Forgotten Kocury Locality (Poland) with a New Aetosaur Taxon |year=2021 |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=41 |issue=1 |article-number=e1898977 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2021.1898977 |bibcode=2021JVPal..41E8977C |s2cid=233522981 }}</ref> and more complete specimens known from the Late Cretaceous of Queensland, Australia and Argentina (Malargue Group).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=140023|title=Fossilworks: Metaceratodus|website=fossilworks.org|access-date=17 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kemp|first1=A.|date=16 April 1997|title=Four species of Metaceratodus (Osteichthyes: Dipnoi, Family Ceratodontidae) from Australian Mesozoic and Cenozoic deposits|journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology|volume=17|issue=1|pages=26–33|doi=10.1080/02724634.1997.10010949|bibcode=1997JVPal..17...26K |issn=0272-4634}}</ref><ref>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</ref> The genus was named and described by Frederick Chapman in 1914.<ref>Chapman, F. (1914). ''Australasian Fossils. A Students' Manual of Palaeontology'' 1-341</ref><ref>Chapman, F. (1914) ''Australian Fossils''. Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and London. [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/59074 Project Gutenberg eBook 59074]</ref>

== Species == The seven identified species of ''Metaceratodus'' are listed below, while an eighth unnamed species is known from Poland:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=140023|title=Fossilworks: Metaceratodus|website=fossilworks.org|access-date=17 December 2021}}</ref>

* 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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Panzeri |first1=Karen M. |last2=Muñoz |first2=Nahuel A. |date=3 April 2022 |title=Metaceratodus baibianorum from the La Colonia Formation: tooth plate anomalies and the possible presence of tertiary dentine |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03115518.2022.2078882#abstract |journal=Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology |language=en |volume=46 |issue=2 |pages=198–207 |doi=10.1080/03115518.2022.2078882 |issn=0311-5518 |access-date=7 January 2026 |via=Taylor and Francis Online|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==See also== {{Portal|Paleontology|Fish}} * Sarcopterygii * List of sarcopterygians * List of prehistoric bony fish

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Prehistoric lobe-finned fish genera Category:Cretaceous fish of Australia Category:Norian genus first appearances Category:Fossil taxa described in 1914