labyrinthodont

[ lab-uh-rin-thuh-dont ]
/ ˌlæb əˈrɪn θəˌdɒnt /

noun

any member of several orders of small to large lizardlike terrestrial and freshwater amphibians, some ancestral to land vertebrates, forming the extinct subclass Labyrinthodonta that flourished from the Devonian through the Triassic periods, characterized by a solid, flattened skull and conical teeth.

adjective

having teeth with complexly infolded enamel surfaces.
belonging to or pertaining to the Labyrinthodonta.

Origin of labyrinthodont

1840–50; < New Latin Labyrinthodonta, equivalent to Greek labýrinth(os) labyrinth + -odonta, neuter plural of -odontos -odont

Words nearby labyrinthodont

labyrinthine fluid, labyrinthine nystagmus, labyrinthine vein, labyrinthine vertigo, labyrinthitis, labyrinthodont, labyrinthotomy, lac, lac insect, lacan, laccadive islands

Example sentences from the Web for labyrinthodont

  • Cordylomorpha are Ichthyosaurs and the Labyrinthodont group.

    Dragons of the Air |H. G. Seeley

British Dictionary definitions for labyrinthodont

labyrinthodont
/ (ˌlæbəˈrɪnθəˌdɒnt) /

noun

any primitive amphibian of the order Labyrinthodontia, of late Devonian to Triassic times, having teeth with much-folded dentine

Word Origin for labyrinthodont

C19: from Greek laburinthos labyrinth + -odont

Scientific definitions for labyrinthodont

labyrinthodont
[ lăb′ə-rĭn′thə-dŏnt′ ]

Any of various extinct amphibians of the group Labyrinthodontia, which were the dominant animals of the late Paleozoic Era. Labyrinthodonts had stocky, lizardlike bodies with short limbs, and fishlike teeth with labyrinthine structure (with complex infolding of the enamel). They varied from the size of a salamander to that of a crocodile. One early genus, Ichthyostega, was probably the first terrestrial vertebrate.