Bradyodonti is an extinct order of cartilaginous fishes (class Chondrichthyes) that lived in the Paleozoic Era. They first appeared toward the end of the Devonian Period, were present through the Carboniferous Period, and became extinct by the end of the Permian Period.
| Bradyodonti Temporal range:
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Order: | †Bradyodonti |
The following taxa are referred to Bradyodonti:[1]
- Chimaeriformes
- Chondrenchelyiformes
- Cochliodontiformes
- Copodontiformes
- Eugeneodontida
- Helodontiformes
- Iniopterygiformes
- Menaspiformes
- Orodontidae
- Petalodontiformes
- Psammodontidae
Most Bradyodonti fossils consist of jaws and teeth. These indicate that Bradyodonti ate mollusks and other shelled invertebrates. Their bodies were probably broad and flattened, like modern rays.
"Bradyodonti" can also refer to the present-day Chimaera or ratfish of the order Chimaeriformes, which have an upper jaw fused to the braincase and a flap of skin covering the gill slits.
References
edit- ^ Lund, Richard (1977). "New Information on the Evolution of the Bradyodont Chondrichthyes" (PDF). Fieldiana Geology. 33 (28): 521–539.
External links
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