Stenosteus Explained

Stenosteus is an extinct monospecific genus of medium-sized selenosteid arthrodire placoderms of the Late Devonian period known from the Upper Famennian Cleveland Shale of Ohio. Estimated skull lengths range from 6 to 9 centimeters[1] Most fossils of Stenosteus have been scraps of armor and portions of tooth-plates suggestive of Selenosteus. In 1996, enough material of a new species, S. angustopectus, was recovered to allow a reconstruction of armor that resembles that of Selenosteus.[2]

Phylogeny

Stenosteus is a member of the family Selenosteidae 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 Stenosteus:[3]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Denison, Robert. Handbook of Paleoichthyology, Volume 2, Placodermi. 1978. Gustav Fischer Verlage. New York. 9780895740274. 98.
  2. Carr. Robert. STENOSTEUS ANGUSTOPECTUS SP. NOV. FROM THE CLEVELAND SHALE (FAMENNIAN) OF NORTHERN OHIO WITH A REVIEW OF SELENOSTEID (PLACODERMI) SYSTEMATICS. Kirtlandia. February 1996. 49. 9–43.
  3. 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 .