Rhizodonts lived in tropical rivers and freshwater lakes and were the dominant predators of their age.

This may have been a kinetic mechanism to dig the marginal teeth more deeply into the prey, to help grip slippery or struggling items.

This probably helped rhizodonts detect prey in the turbid, swampy environments where they lived.

They had a well-developed internal skeleton surrounded by robust, largely unsegmented lepidotrichia; the whole fin was then covered in deeply overlapping scales.

The cladogram presented below is based on a 2021 study by Clement and colleagues:[4] Hongyu Gooloogongia Barameda Sauripterus Screbinodus Rhizodus Strepsodus Judging from their anatomy, rhizodonts had an extremely powerful bite.