| Sweetognathus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Infraphylum: | Agnatha |
| Class: | †Conodonta |
| Order: | †Ozarkodinida |
| Family: | †Sweetognathidae |
| Genus: | †Sweetognathus Clark, 1972[1] |
| Species | |
| |
Sweetognathus is an extinct genus ofconodonts in the familySweetognathidae that evolved at the beginning of the Permian period (298.9 Ma), in near-equatorial, shallow-water seas.[2]
The genus is characterized by pustulose ornamentation on a wide, flat-topped carina. It originated in the earliestPermian asS. expansus fromDiplognathodus edentulus.[3]Sweetognathus forms a species complex.[4] The genus is named after paleontologistWalter C. Sweet.
Recurrent parallel species pairs have occurred throughoutSweetognathus evolution between populations originating inBolivia, theMidwestern United States, andRussia.[2] Parallelisms have been found to occur in the denticle morphologies of their platform elements.[2]
According to theList of Global Boundary Stratotype Sections and Points, the speciesSweetognathus whitei made its first appearance during theArtinskian (some 290.1 ± 0.26 mya), in the Permian of theUral Mountains.
The speciesSweetognathus merrelli is near first appearance during theSakmarian (some 295.0 ± 0.18 mya) in the Permian ofKondurovsky,Orenburg, Russia.[5]
