The original name for this genus was AnogmiusCope, 1871, which was described with the type speciesA. contractus. Shortly afterwards, Cope synonymized the genus with Pachyrhizodus, only to revive it in 1877 for species such as A. aratus, A. favirostris, and A. evolutus. Cope's synonymy of this genus with Pachyrhizodus was variously accepted or rejected for several decades, until 1940 when the new genus Bananogmius was proposed to contain all members of Anogmius aside from the type species, which was assumed to be a synonym of Pachyrhizodus. Further analysis of Cope's description of the original Anogmius contractus confirms that it was a plethodid and not a pachyrhizodontid, but this specimen was too fragmentary for a proper diagnosis and is now lost, leaving Bananogmius as the valid name.[1]
Specimens are known from the Turonian and possibly the Albian (Tlayúa Formation) of Mexico, although these have not yet been described.[8] Some species formerly placed in this genus, such as B. evolutus Cope, 1877 and B. crieleyi Applegate, 1970 were later reclassified as Pentanogmius.[9]
Bananogmius appears to have been a medium-sized predator that swallowed its prey headfirst. A fossil of B. ornatus from Germany from around the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary is preserved with the skeletons of the small schooling fish Clupavus in its stomach.[4] This fish also has crushing teeth, indicating that it may have preyed upon marine mollusks.[5]
^Fielitz C, Shimada K. 1999. A new species of Bananogmius (Teleostei; Tselfatiformes) from the Upper Cretaceous Carlile Shale of western Kansas. Journal of Paleontology73(3): 504-511.
^Taverne L. 2001. Révision du genre Bananogmius (Teleostei, Tselfatiiformes), poisson marin du Crétecé supérior d'Amérique du Nord et d'Europe. Geodiversitas23(1):17-40.
^ abcHunt, Adrian P.; Milàn, Jesper; Lucas, Spencer G.; Spielmann, Justin A. (2012). Vertebrate Coprolites: Bulletin 57. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.
^Taverna, L. (2000). "Ostéologie et position systématique du genre Plethodus et des nouveaux genres Dixonanogmius et Pentanogmius, poissons marins du Crétacé (Teleostei, Tselfatiiformes)". Biologisch Jaarboek Dodonaea. 67 (1): 94–123.
^Everhart, Mike (23 Aug 2011). "Plethodids". Oceans of Kansas. Retrieved 28 April 2014.