Lonchidion

Name: Lonchidion.
Phonetic: Lon-che-dy-on.
Named By: R.‭ ‬Estes‭ ‬-‭ ‬1964.
Synonyms: Priscavolucris.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Chondrichthyes,‭ ‬Elasmobranchii,‭ ‬Selachimorpha,‭ ‬Hybodontiformes,‭ ‬Hybodontoidea,‭ ‬Hybodontidae.
Species: L.‭ ‬anitae,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬breve,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬crenulatum,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬humblei,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬indicus,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬inflexum,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬khoratensis,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬microselachos,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬monteschi,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬selachas,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬selachos,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬striatum.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Unavailable.
Known locations: Canada,‭ ‬Saskatchewan‭ ‬-‭ ‬Frenchman Formation.‭ ‬England‭ ‬-‭ ‬Durlston Formation,‭ ‬Tunbridge Wells Sand Formation.‭ ‬Germany‭ ‬-‭ ‬Bückeberg Formation.‭ ‬India‭ ‬-‭ ‬Kota Formation.‭ ‬Spain‭ ‬-‭ ‬Artoles Formation,‭ ‬Camarillas Formation,‭ ‬El Castellar Formation,‭ ‬La Pedrera de Rúbies Formation,‭ ‬Vega de Pas Formation.‭ ‬Tanzania‭ ‬-‭ ‬Tendaguru Formation.‭ ‬Thailand‭ ‬-‭ ‬Sao Khua Formation.‭ ‬USA,‭ ‬Arizona‭ ‬-‭ ‬Chinle Formation,‭ ‬Colorado‭ ‬-‭ ‬Laramie Formation,‭ ‬Montana‭ ‬-‭ ‬Fruitland Formation,‭ ‬New Mexico‭ ‬-‭ ‬Petrified Forest Formation,‭ ‬San Pedro Arroyo Formation,‭ ‬North Dakota‭ ‬-‭ ‬Hell Creek Formation,‭ ‬Oklahoma‭ ‬-‭ ‬Antlers Formation,‭ ‬Texas‭ ‬-‭ ‬Aguja Formation,‭ ‬Tecovas Formation,‭ ‬Twin Mountains Formation,‭ ‬Utah‭ ‬-‭ ‬Masuk Formation,‭ ‬Wyoming‭ ‬-‭ ‬Cloverly Formation,‭ ‬Ferris Formation,‭ ‬Lance Formation,‭ ‬Mesaverde Formation.
Time period: Norian of the Triassic through to the Maastrichtian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Mostly known from teeth,‭ ‬fossilised egg capsules are also known.

       Lonchidion is a genus of very successful hybodontid shark that lived for most of the Mesozoic.‭ ‬Most fossils attributed to Lonchidion are Cretaceous in age,‭ ‬though Jurassic and even Late Triassic fossils are also known.‭ ‬Also,‭ ‬while Lonchidion has been mostly associated with North America and Europe,‭ ‬fossils from Africa and Asia are now starting to be identified,‭ ‬hinting at a cosmopolitan‭ (‬global‭) ‬distribution for the genus across different species.‭ ‬Hybodont sharks like Lonchidion are seen as being generalists,‭ ‬capable of hunting and efficiently killing anything from fish and cephalopods,‭ ‬to shelled crustaceans.‭ ‬It is this adaptability which is seen as the main reason for the success of this shark genus,‭ ‬and it is also mirrored within some of the relative shark genera to Lonchidion such as Hybodus.

Further reading
-‭ ‬Fossil vertebrates from the Late Cretaceous Lance Formation,‭ ‬eastern Wyoming.‭ ‬-‭ ‬University of California Publications in Geological Sciences‭ ‬49:1-180.‭ ‬-‭ ‬R.‭ ‬Estes‭ ‬-‭ ‬1964.
-‭ ‬A selachian freshwater fauna from the Triassic of Kyrgyzstan and its implication for Mesozoic shark nurseries.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology‭ ‬31‭ (‬5‭)‬:‭ ‬937‭–‬953.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Jan Fischer,‭ ‬Sebastian Voigt,‭ ‬Jörg W.‭ ‬Schneider,‭ ‬Michael Buchwitz‭ & ‬Silke Voigt‭ ‬-‭ ‬2011.

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