Belodon

{{Short description|Extinct genus of reptiles}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| fossil_range = Triassic, {{Fossil range|205.6|201.6|ref=}}

| image = Belodon sp teeth.jpg

| image_caption = Belodon teeth originally referred to Mystriosuchus

| taxon = Belodon

| authority = von Meyer, 1844

| type_species = †Belodon plieningeri

| type_species_authority = von Meyer, 1844

| subdivision_ranks = Other species

| subdivision =

• Belodon lepturus Cope, 1870
• Belodon scolopax Cope, 1881
• Belodon validus Marsh, 1893

| synonyms =

• Belodon kapfii von Meyer, 1861 (now Nicrosaurus)

}}

File:Belodon.jpg. The skull of Belodon is based on Nicrosaurus kapffi, and the carapace on Paratypothorax]]

Belodon (meaning "arrow tooth") is a genus of phytosaur, a crocodile-like reptile that lived during the Triassic. Its fossils have been found in Europe, North American, and India, but their remains have not been found in the southern continents. Familiar genera include Phytosaurus, Belodon, and Rutiodon, which was more than 3 metres (10 feet) long and whose skull alone measured about 1 metre. The type species, Belodon plieningeri, was named by prolific German paleontologist Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer in 1844.

Many other species were also named, among them Belodon buceros (named by Edward Drinker Cope in 1881),Cope, E.D. (1881). "Belodon in New Mexico". American Naturalist 15: 922-923. Belodon kapfii (von Meyer, 1861), Belodon lepturus (Cope, 1870),Cope, E.D. (1870). "Reptilia of the Triassic Formation of the United States". American Naturalist 4: 562-563. Belodon priscus (originally described as Compsosaurus priscus by Joseph Leidy in 1856),Leidy, J. (1856). "Notice of some remains of extinct vertebrated animals". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 163-165. Belodon scolopax (Cope, 1881), and Belodon validus (Othniel Charles Marsh, 1893).Marsh, O.C. (1893). "Restoration of Anchisaurus". The American Journal of Science. Series 3 45: 169-170. Some paleontologists of the late 19th and early 20th century believed Belodon was synonymous with Phytosaurus or Machaeroprosopus.