Skip to main content
Ceratodontidae

Ceratodontidae

9.9
A group of freshwater lungfish with hornlike ridges on their teeth
  • noun
  • /ˌsɛrəˈtɒndɪˌdeɪ/
  • Specialized
: Ceratodontidae
  • The Ceratodontidae family includes both ancient and modern lungfishes.

Examples

  • Scientists studied the unique teeth structure of Ceratodontidae to better understand their evolutionary history.

  • The Ceratodontidae family is represented today by only a few living species in Australia.

  • Fossil records show that Ceratodontidae once had a much wider distribution.

  • Many species of Ceratodontidae are found in freshwater habitats.

  • Fossil records show that Ceratodontidae once had a much wider distribution in ancient freshwater environments.

  • Scientists carefully studied the unique teeth structure of Ceratodontidae to understand their adaptations in freshwater habitats.

  • Today, the Ceratodontidae family is represented by only a few living species, primarily located in freshwater regions of Australia.

Surface Forms

Morphology

Ceratodontidae = Ceratodus (opaque) = cerat + odont + idae

A technical taxonomic formation from Greek combining forms and the family suffix '-idae' is specialized and not transparently meaningful to general learners.

Etymology

Ceratodontidae comes from Greek parts cerato- 'horn', odont- 'tooth' as in orthodontist, a tooth doctor, and -idae 'family'. So the name means 'horn-toothed family', which fits these lungfish with hornlike ridges on their teeth.