Coccosteus
| Coccosteus Temporal range: Middle to Late Devonian,
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| C. cuspidatus specimen IVPP V19322, Paleozoological Museum of China | |
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| Artist's reconstruction of C. cuspidatus | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | †Placodermi |
| Order: | †Arthrodira |
| Suborder: | †Brachythoraci |
| Clade: | †Eubrachythoraci |
| Clade: | †Coccosteomorphi |
| Superfamily: | †Coccosteoidea |
| Family: | †Coccosteidae |
| Genus: | †Coccosteus Agassiz, 1843 |
| Type species | |
| Coccosteus cuspidatus Miller, 1841
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| Species | |
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Coccosteus (from Greek: κόκκος kókkos, 'berry' and Greek: ὀστέον ostéon 'bone')[1] is an extinct genus of arthrodire placoderm from the Devonian period. Its fossils have been found throughout Europe and North America. The majority of these have been found in freshwater sediments, though such a large range suggests that they may have been able to enter saltwater. The largest specimens were about 40 centimetres (16 in), although the average length was 20 to 24 centimetres (7.9 to 9.4 in).
Description
Like all other arthrodires, Coccosteus had a joint between the armor of the body and skull. It also had an internal joint between its neck vertebrae and the back of the skull, allowing for the mouth to be opened even wider. Along with the longer jaws, this allowed Coccosteus to feed on fairly large prey. The up-and-down movement of the skull also allowed for more water to be pumped through the gills. Possibly, the creature supplemented its diet with organic material filtered from mud using the gills. As with all other arthrodires, Coccosteus had bony dental plates embedded in its jaws, forming a beak. The beak was kept sharp by having the edges of the dental plates grind away at each other.[2] Overall the creature looked similar to its gigantic cousin Dunkleosteus, save that its eyes were closer to the end of its snout than in its larger relative.
Phylogeny
Coccosteus is the type genus for family Coccosteidae, which belongs to the clade Coccosteomorphi, one of the two major clades within Eubrachythoraci. The cladogram below shows the phylogeny of Coccosteus:[3]
Species
C. cuspidatus
This is the type species, and is an important index fossil in the continental Devonian sequence of northern Scotland deposited in the Orcadian Basin. It is only present at and below the Upper Eifelian Achanarras limestone level.[4]
See also
References
- ^ Dean, Bashford (1895). Fishes, living and fossil. An outline of their forms and probable relationships. New York, London, Macmillan and Co. p. 228.
- ^ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 32. ISBN 978-1-84028-152-1.
- ^ 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". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 176 (4): 806–834. doi:10.1111/zoj.12356. ISSN 0024-4082.
- ^ Trewin, N.H.; Davison R.G. (1999). "Lake-level changes, sedimentation and faunas in a Middle Devonian basin-margin fish bed". Journal of the Geological Society. 156 (3): 535–548. Bibcode:1999JGSoc.156..535T. doi:10.1144/gsjgs.156.3.0535. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
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