Myledaphus is an extinct genus of guitarfish. It currently contains four valid species found in North America (M. bipartitus, M. pustulosus), South America (M. araucanus), and Central Asia (M. tritus). It is confirmed to have lived during the Late Cretaceous, with possible occurrences in the Paleocene and early Eocene.[1] While the genus is mostly known from teeth, two partial skeletons of M. bipartitus have been found in the Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta.[2]
Myledaphus remains have been found both in marine and fluvial (freshwater) deposits, suggesting it could tolerate a range of salinity.[3] In the Hell Creek Formation, composed predominantly of floodplain and riverine deposits, Myledaphus teeth are very common, accounting for a significant fraction of vertebrate remains found in microsites.
Myledaphus has a durophagus dentition with blunt, polygonal-shaped (hexagonal to rhombic) teeth tessellated into a pavement suited for crushing and grinding hard-bodied prey. Many of their teeth show wear consistent with feeding on mollusks, which were common in the rivers of North America during the Late Cretaceous.