Eodiaphyodus Temporal range:
Late Cretaceous,
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Tooth plate of E. granulosus from Morocco | |
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†Eodiaphyodus
Arambourg, 1952
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Binomial name | |
†Eodiaphyodus granulosus
Arambourg, 1952
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Eodiaphyodus is a genus of Elopiform fish that is classified in the suborder Albuloidea. It is known from Late Cretaceous sediments across Africa, [1] and it crushed its food with bony plates found in the back of its throat. The type species is E. granulosus and it was named and described in 1952. [2]
The oldest known specimens of Eodiaphyodus were found in Campanian rocks in Angola and Nigeria, [2] and it is believed that the genus originated in this part of Africa before dispersing northwards (via the Atlantic coast of West Africa or via the trans-Saharan seaway) to reach northwestern Africa by the Maastrichtian. [1]