Paronychodon

near claw tooth

• para · Greek · near, beside
• onyx (onych-) · Greek · claw
• odon · Greek · tooth

The name means "near claw tooth". It combines Greek roots for "near/beside", "claw" and "tooth". Cope coined it in 1876 for small, curved, ridged teeth that he thought resembled those of another tooth-based genus, Onychodon.

Named by

Cope

Year named

1876

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stages

Campanian – Maastrichtian

Found in

Type material from the Judith River Formation, Montana, USA. Similar teeth are reported from other Late Cretaceous North American formations.

Known only from isolated teeth. It is generally regarded as a nomen dubium because the teeth are not diagnostic. They are probably from small theropods, possibly troodontids or tyrannosaurids, and some may be from other animals. The type species is P. lacustris.