Abstract
The large pycnodontiform fish genus Cosmodus Sauvage, 1879 is redescribed on the basis of both historical material and new specimens, and a formal diagnosis is proposed. The vomerine and prearticular dentitions of Cosmodus show a unique combination of characters, including the morphology and ornamentation of the tooth crowns and the number of tooth rows. Cosmodus is thus recognized as a valid distinct genus, restricted to the middle–upper Cenomanian of Western Europe (France, England, Spain, and possibly Germany) and including a single species, C. carentonensis (Coquand, 1859). Cosmodus shares some peculiar dental features with Coccodus (e.g., vomerine dentition with three rows of subtriangular teeth) and is therefore tentatively interpreted as a gigantic member of the Coccodontidae, a family of highly specialized pycnodont fishes so far known only from the middle–upper Cenomanian of Lebanon.
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