Pycnodus
Pycnodus is an extinct genus of ray-finned fish ranging from the Jurassic to Eocene periods. As its name suggests, it is the type genus of Pycnodontiformes.
The known whole fossils of Pycnodus are around long, and have a superficial resemblance to angelfish or butterflyfish. The animals, as typical of all other pycnodontids, had many knob-like teeth, forming pavements in the jaws with which to break and crush hard food substances, probably mollusks and echinoderms. These teeth are the most common form of fossil.
Pycnodus fossils have been found in present-day India, Northern Africa, Belgium, England, and Italy, regions corresponding with the Tethys Ocean. A specimen of the prehistoric whale, Basilosaurus isis, was found in the Eocene-aged Wadi El Hitan with stomach contents of its last meals, including a large specimen of the species P. mokattamensis along with skeletons of a smaller whale called Dorudon.
