Myledaphus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous 94.3–66.043 Ma |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Chondrichthyes |
Order: | Rajiformes |
Family: | Rhinobatidae |
Genus: | †Myledaphus |
Species: | M. bipartitus |
Binomial name | |
Myledaphus bipartitus (Cope, 1876) |
Myledaphus is a genus of Late Cretaceous cartilaginous fish whose fossils are known from Canada, the Midwest of the United States, and Uzbekistan. It was a freshwater guitarfish that probably reached a length of 3 feet long, and had teeth adapted for a durophagous diet of animals such as clams.
The most common remains of this fish are teeth and vertebra. A study performed on Myledaphus vertebra from Alberta in 2013 revealed that Myledaphus had an estimated maximum age of 16 years. This means that Myledaphus had a shorter lifespan than that of the modern common guitarfish, by a difference of 8 years.