A family of extinct tooth-bearing lung fish from ancient times, distinguished by their large, flat grinding teeth shaped like horns or plates.
From Greek 'keras' (horn) + 'odous' (tooth) + '-dontidae' (toothed family suffix). This taxonomic name emphasizes the characteristic horn-like dental plates of these Mesozoic fish.
When you look at fossil teeth from ceratodontids, you're holding evidence of a fishing strategy that worked for over 200 million years—nature's way of saying 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it!'
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