Ctenacanthus (from , 'comb' and , 'spine') is an extinct genus of ctenacanthiform chondrichthyan. Remains have been found in the Bloyd Formation (Carboniferous Period) of Arkansas and the Cleveland Shale (Devonian Period) of Ohio in the United States and in South America.Acanthodian fish remains from the Upper Silurian or Lower Devonian of the Amazon Basin, Brazil. Philippe Janvier, Jose Henrique G. Melo, Palaeontology, Aug 1988, Vol 31, part 3
Valid species Ctenacanthus buttersi St. John & Worthen, 1883 Ctenacanthus chemungensis Claypole, 1885 Ctenacanthus concinnus Newberry, 1875 Ctenacanthus denticulatus McCoy, 1848 Ctenacanthus formosus Newberry, 1873 Ctenacanthus harrissi Caster, 1930 Ctenacanthus lamborni Wells, 1944 Ctenacanthus major Agassiz, 1843 Ctenacanthus pellensis St. John & Worthen, 1883 Ctenacanthus sculptus St. John & Worthen, 1875 Ctenacanthus terrelli Newberry, 1889 Ctenacanthus tumidus Newberry, 1889 Ctenacanthus vetustus Eastman, 1902 Ctenacanthus wrightii Newberry, 1884 Ctenacanthus amblyxiphias Cope, 1891 Ctenacanthus ishii Kapoor & Sahni, 1971
Palaeoecology Dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) of C. concinnus teeth shows that the species was an opportunistic feeder that would have eaten a variety of animals, including other chondrichthyans and ectocochleate cephalopods.
See also List of prehistoric cartilaginous fish genera
References
External links 3D scans of the skull and dorsal spine of Ctenacanthus, provided by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History Fossil Sharks of the Rocky Mountains: Ctenacanthus and other Chondrichthyan Spines and Denticles. Wayne Itano, Boulder, Colorado, Karen Houck and Martin Lockley, University of Colorado, Denver