Phyllodon

leaf tooth

• phyllon · Greek · leaf
• odōn · Greek · tooth

Phyllodon combines the Greek words 'phyllon' (leaf) and 'odōn' (tooth), meaning "leaf tooth." The name was chosen to reflect the distinctively leaf-shaped teeth of the animal, a characteristic feature often used to identify small ornithopod dinosaurs from isolated dental material. The leaf-like profile of the teeth — broad and flat with serrated edges — is the defining characteristic that inspired this name.

Named by

Thulborn

Year named

1973

Period

Late Jurassic

Stage

Kimmeridgian

Found in

Guimarota Formation, Leiria, Portugal

Phyllodon is generally regarded as a nomen dubium. It was described by Thulborn in 1973 on the basis of isolated teeth from the Guimarota coal mine site in Portugal. Because the material is so fragmentary (teeth only), it is difficult to diagnose the genus with confidence or to reliably compare it with other hypsilophodontid-grade ornithopods. It is a dinosaur (a small ornithopod).