Bruntonichthys Explained

Bruntonichthys is an extinct monospecific genus of arthrodire placoderm from the Early Frasnian stage of the Late Devonian period. Fossils are found in the Gogo Formation of the Kimberley region of Australia. The skull is about 139 millimetres long, and had disproportionally large eye sockets. Researchers suggest it may have preyed on small mollusks.[1]

Phylogeny

Bruntonichthys is a basal member of the clade Aspinothoracidi, which belongs to the clade Pachyosteomorphi, one of the two major clades within Eubrachythoraci. The cladogram below shows the phylogeny of Bruntonichthys:[2]

Notes and References

  1. DENNIS, K. and MILES, R. S. (1980), New durophagous arthrodires from Gogo, Western Australia. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 69: 43–85.
  2. Zhu . You-An . Zhu . Min . Wang . Jun-Qing . 1 April 2016 . Redescription of Yinostius major (Arthrodira: Heterostiidae) from the Lower Devonian of China, and the interrelationships of Brachythoraci . . 176 . 4 . 806–834 . 10.1111/zoj.12356. 0024-4082 . free .