Triodus

Name: Triodus ‭(‬Triple tooth‭)‬.
Phonetic: Try-o-dus.
Named By: Jordan‭ ‬-‭ ‬1849.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Chondrichthyes,‭ ‬Elasmobranchii,‭ ‬Xenacanthida,‭ ‬Xenacanthidae.
Species: T. elpia, T.‭ ‬sessilis, T. richterae.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Approximately‭ ‬50‭ ‬-‭ ‬60‭ ‬centimetres long.
Known locations: Germany.‭ ‬North America.
Time period: Permian.
Fossil representation: Almost complete specimens.




       Triodus was similar to other sharks such as Xenacanthus and Orthacanthus,‭ ‬and it too also seems to have lived in the freshwater swamps and waterways that covered much of ancient Europe and North America.‭ ‬Fossil evidence of Triodus shows that it actively pursued prey like juvenile amphibians‭ (‬still in their larval stages,‭ ‬they probably could not climb onto land to escape‭)‬,‭ ‬which were swallowed tail first.‭ ‬Like others of its group,‭ ‬Triodus probably wasn't a strong swimmer,‭ ‬but because of its eel‭ ‬like body,‭ ‬it could easily squirm into tight places in both the pursuit of its prey and hiding from other larger predators.

Further reading
- Early Pennsylvanian Xenacanth Chondrichthyans from the Swisshelm Mountains, Arizona, USA. - Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 54(4):649-688. - G. D. Johnson & D. W. Thayer - 2009.
- The first Western Gondwanan species of Triodus Jordan 1849: A new Xenacanthiformes (Chondrichthyes) from the late Paleozoic of Southern Brazil. - Journal of South American Earth Sciences. 80: 482–493. - Victor E. Pauliv, Agust�n G. Martinelli, Heitor Francischini, Paula Dentzien-Dias, Marina B. Soares, Cesar L. Schultz & Ana M. Ribeiro - 2017.



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