Onychodus
| Onychodus Temporal range: Devonian | |
|---|---|
| Holotype skull of Onychodus jandemarrai (Showing single tusk whorl, while actually there should be a pair) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Sarcopterygii |
| Order: | †Onychodontiformes |
| Family: | †Onychodontidae |
| Genus: | †Onychodus Newberry, 1857 |
| Type species | |
| †Onychodus sigmoides Newberry, 1857 | |
| Species | |
| Localities of known Onychodus fossils | |
Onychodus (/ɒˈnɪkədəs/, from Greek meaning "claw-tooth") is a genus of prehistoric lobe-finned fish which lived during the Devonian Period (Eifelian - Famennian stages, around 374 to 397 million years ago). It is one of the best known of the group of onychodontiform fishes. Scattered fossil teeth of Onychodus were first described from Ohio in 1857 by John Strong Newberry. Other species were found in Australia, England, Norway and Germany showing that it had a widespread range.
Onychodus was about 2 to 4 meters in length and was a pelagic animal. Like other onychodontiformes, it had a pair of tooth spirals (parasymphysial tooth whorls) bearing tusk-like teeth.
The most well-preserved specimen of Onychodus has been found in the Gogo Formation of Western Australia giving palaeontologists more information about the structure of the fish. Other species of Onychodus are known only from poor material based on isolated tusks, teeth and scales.