Erikodus is an extinct genus of caseodontid eugeneodont from the Late Permian of Greenland. A single species, E. groenlandicus, is known, which was originally classified as a species of "Agassizodus". The genus had a row of rounded, overlapping teeth along the midline (or symphysis) of both the upper and lower jaw, as well as rows of flat, plate-like, rectangular crushing teeth elsewhere in the mouth. The anatomy of the crushing teeth (termed "pavement teeth") is similar to that of the related genera "Agassizodus" and "Caseodus", although the arrangement and shape of the midline teeth is unique in "E. groenlandicus".
Discovery and naming.
The type species, "Erikodus groenlandicus", was originally named as a species of the genus "Agassizodus" in 1932 by Danish paleontologist Egil Nielsen. In a 1952 publication, Nielsen recognized that the species was distinct from "Agassizodus" and classified it as a distinct genus. Teeth referred to the genus "Copodus" were also described by Nielsen in 1932, but were recognized to also belong to "Erikodus" in his subsequent paper.
The genus is named in honor of Swedish paleontologist Erik Stensiö.
Description.
"Erikodus" is known from teeth and portions of its cartilaginous skeleton.