Avonacanthus Explained

Avonacanthus is an extinct genus of cartilaginous fish from the lower Carboniferous. The name is derived from the type locality of Avon Gorge, near Bristol, England. It contains a single species, A. brevis, which was originally regarded as a species of Ctenacanthus.^[1] It is currently known only from fin spines. It is probably a cladistically basal Heslerodid.^[2]

Notes and References

1. AGASSIZ, L. (1836) Recherches sur les poissons fossiles, 7th livraison (June–July 1836). Petitpierre et Prince (text) and H. Nicolet (plates), Neuchâtel, vol. 3: pl. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 41, 42, 43, 44.
2. Maisey, J. G. (2010). Heslerodidae (Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii), a new family of Paleozoic phalacanthous sharks. Kirtlandia, 57, 13-21.