Selenosteidae

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Selenosteidae
Temporal range: Late Devonian
Selenosteus brevis.jpg
Selenosteus brevis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Placodermi
Order:
Arthrodira
Suborder:
Brachythoraci
Infraorder:
Coccosteina
Superfamily:
Dinichthyloidea
Family:
Selenosteidae
Type species
Selenosteus brevis
(Claypole) 1869
Genera
Synonyms
  • Pachyosteidae Gross, 1932
  • Braunosteidae Stensiö, 1959
  • Rhinosteidae Stensiö, 1963

Selenosteidae is a family of small to large-sized arthrodire placoderms from the Late Devonian. With the exception of the Chinese Phymosteus, selenosteids lived in shallow seas in what is now Eastern North America (the Cleveland Shale), Eastern Europe (Holy Cross Mountains, Poland, and the Kellwasserkalk fauna of Bad Wildungen), and Northeastern Africa (the Anti-Atlas Mountains, Morocco).

Selenosteids have, in cross section, a rounded body, a blunt snout, and tremendous orbits. The lower jaws were slender, the inferognathals usually either being finely serrated, or adapted for crushing,[1] though, in Draconichthys, the inferognathals had long prongs for seizing prey.[2] The rostrum is very small.

Taxonomy[]

Below is a cladogram from Rücklin (2011):[2]

Aspinothoracidi
 

 
 

Brachydeirus

 
Selenosteidae
 

Pachyosteus

 
 
 
 

Selenosteus

 
 
 

Stenosteus

 
 

Gymnotrachelus

 
 
 
 
 

Microsteus

 
 
 

Walterosteus

 
 
 

Draconichthys

 
 

Enseosteus

 
 
 

Melanosteus

 
 

Rhinosteus

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Denison (1978)[1] separated Selenosteidae into two informal groups, the "American" genera (i.e., those taxa from the Upper Famennian Cleveland Shales, such as Selenosteus and Gymnotrachelus), and the "European" genera (i.e., those taxa from the Upper Frasnian Kellwasserkalk facies of Germany, and later, Morocco, like Rhinosteus and Microsteus). Denison notes that the differences between the two groups, such as how the American genera tend to have slightly smaller orbits, and slightly longer cheeks, may suggest the similarities between them are due to parallel evolution.[1]

Rücklin (2011), on the other hand, places Pachyosteus as the most basal selenosteid, then groups the American genera (with Selenosteus grouped as the sister taxon of Gymnotrachelus and Stenosteus) as being the sister group of the remaining European/Kellwasserkalk genera, plus Draconichthys.[2]

Some experts imply that Selenosteidae is paraphyletic, as the genus Rhinosteus is often depicted in arthrodire cladograms as being the sister taxon to the Dinichthyloidea taxa Dinichthys (ne "Dinichthyidae"), Gorgonichthys, Heintzichthys, and Hadrosteidae.[3]

See also[]

  • List of placoderms

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Denison, Robert (1978). Handbook of Paleoichthyology, Volume 2, Placodermi. New York: Gustav Fischer Verlage. p. 94. ISBN 9780895740274.
  2. ^ a b c RÜCKLIN, MARTIN (January 14, 2011). "First selenosteid placoderms from the eastern Anti-Atlas of Morocco; osteology, phylogeny and palaeogeographical implications". Palaeontology. 56 (1): 25–62. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2010.01026.x.
  3. ^ Haaramo, Mikko. "Mikko's Phylogeny Archive: †PACHYSTEOMORPHI – Dunkleosteus and its relatives".


Stub icon

This article about a placoderm is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

  • v
  • t
Retrieved from ""