Doratodon

Doratodon
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous,
~ Notosuchian teeth from Coniacian Italy and Maastrichtian Romania are sometimes referred to Doratodon
Holotype mandible of D. carcharidens (specimen PIUW 2349/57)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Pseudosuchia
Clade: Crocodylomorpha
Clade: Neosuchia (?)
Genus: Doratodon
Seeley, 1881
Type species
Doratodon carcharidens
(Bunzel, 1871)
Other species
  • D. ibericus Company et al., 2005
Synonyms

Doratodon is an extinct genus of Late Cretaceous crocodylomorph. Doratodon was a relatively small animal with ziphodont teeth, meaning the teeth had flattened sides and serrated edges. Two species of Doratodon are known to science: D. carcharidens from Austria (Grünbach Formation), Italy (Villaggio del Pescatore) and Hungary (Csehbánya Formation), the type species; and D. ibericus from Spain (Sierra Perenchiza Formation). Teeth similar to those of Doratodon are also known from Italy, Slovenia and Romania, though they cannot be confidently assigned to this genus. Once classified as a sebecosuchian, a study performed in 2026 suggest it was actually a paralligatorid.

Due to its relationship with crocodylomorphs native to Gondwana, Doratodon is considered to be an important indicator for the repeated faunal interchange between Europe and Africa during the Cretaceous. It was a cosmopolitan genus widespread throughout the islands that formed Europe during its time.