protodons

Protodons is a term used in speculative paleontology to describe a proposed stem group of early jawed vertebrates that allegedly existed during the late Paleozoic era. The concept is used in world-building and hypothetical discussions rather than established science. The name combines proto- meaning "first" with dons, a conventional suffix in the imagined taxonomy.

In the hypothetical scenario, protodons inhabited riverine and floodplain habitats across a landmass similar to a Pangaea-like supercontinent. Fossil material—mostly fragmentary jaws, teeth, and small skull fragments—suggests a small to medium-bodied insectivore or generalist predator with dentition showing a transition from simple to more differentiated teeth.

The teeth include both simple conical dentition and increasingly differentiated replacements, implying a diet that included small invertebrates and possibly small vertebrates.

Classification and relations are debated; protodons are typically portrayed as a stem group near the divergence between major amniote lineages, or as a separate parallel line in some speculative schemes. Because the fossil record for protodons is speculative, researchers emphasize taphonomic biases and the hypothetical nature of their traits.

In fiction and speculative biology, protodons serve to illustrate early experimentation in jaw mechanics and tooth diversity. They are often used to explore how modest changes in dentition and jaw kinematics could lead to diversified feeding strategies in early terrestrial tetrapods.