Unique dental arrangement in a new species, Groenlandaspis howittensis (Placodermi, Arthrodira) from the Middle Devonian of Mount Howitt, Victoria, Australia.

Well-preserved specimens of a new species of arthrodiran placoderm, Groenlandaspis howittensis sp. nov. (Middle Devonian of Victoria, Australia), reveals previously unknown information on the dermal skeleton, body-shape and dentition of the wide-spread genus Groenlandaspis. The new material includes...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Austin N. Fitzpatrick, Alice M. Clement, John A. Long
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: PeerJ Inc. 2024-12-01
Series:PeerJ
Subjects:
Online Access:https://peerj.com/articles/18759.pdf
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850120734572019712
author Austin N. Fitzpatrick
Alice M. Clement
John A. Long
author_facet Austin N. Fitzpatrick
Alice M. Clement
John A. Long
author_sort Austin N. Fitzpatrick
collection DOAJ
description Well-preserved specimens of a new species of arthrodiran placoderm, Groenlandaspis howittensis sp. nov. (Middle Devonian of Victoria, Australia), reveals previously unknown information on the dermal skeleton, body-shape and dentition of the wide-spread genus Groenlandaspis. The new material includes dual pineal plates, extrascapular plates, and cheek bones showing the presence of cutaneous sensory organs. The anterior supragnathal, usually a paired element in arthrodires, is a fused median bone in G. howittensis sp. nov. It is positioned anterior to the occlusion of the mouth between the lower jaw (infragnathals) and upper jaw (posterior supragnathals) bones, indicating a specialised feeding mechanism and broadening the known diversity of placoderm dental morphologies. G. howittensis sp. nov. differs from all other groenlandaspidids by a less pronounced posterior expansion of the nuchal plate; the shape of the posterior dorsolateral plate and the presence of a short accessory canal on the anterior dorsolateral plate. A new phylogenetic analysis positions Groenlandaspididae in a monophyly with the phlyctaeniid families Arctolepidae and Arctaspididae, however, the specific intrarelationships of groenlandaspidids remain poorly resolved.
format Article
id doaj-art-d2f472226c3040ad8940a6f33e6317ea
institution OA Journals
issn 2167-8359
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher PeerJ Inc.
record_format Article
series PeerJ
spelling doaj-art-d2f472226c3040ad8940a6f33e6317ea2025-08-20T02:35:18ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592024-12-0112e1875910.7717/peerj.18759Unique dental arrangement in a new species, Groenlandaspis howittensis (Placodermi, Arthrodira) from the Middle Devonian of Mount Howitt, Victoria, Australia.Austin N. FitzpatrickAlice M. ClementJohn A. LongWell-preserved specimens of a new species of arthrodiran placoderm, Groenlandaspis howittensis sp. nov. (Middle Devonian of Victoria, Australia), reveals previously unknown information on the dermal skeleton, body-shape and dentition of the wide-spread genus Groenlandaspis. The new material includes dual pineal plates, extrascapular plates, and cheek bones showing the presence of cutaneous sensory organs. The anterior supragnathal, usually a paired element in arthrodires, is a fused median bone in G. howittensis sp. nov. It is positioned anterior to the occlusion of the mouth between the lower jaw (infragnathals) and upper jaw (posterior supragnathals) bones, indicating a specialised feeding mechanism and broadening the known diversity of placoderm dental morphologies. G. howittensis sp. nov. differs from all other groenlandaspidids by a less pronounced posterior expansion of the nuchal plate; the shape of the posterior dorsolateral plate and the presence of a short accessory canal on the anterior dorsolateral plate. A new phylogenetic analysis positions Groenlandaspididae in a monophyly with the phlyctaeniid families Arctolepidae and Arctaspididae, however, the specific intrarelationships of groenlandaspidids remain poorly resolved.https://peerj.com/articles/18759.pdfPlacodermArthrodireDevonianPhylogenetic analysisDentitionMorphology
spellingShingle Austin N. Fitzpatrick
Alice M. Clement
John A. Long
Unique dental arrangement in a new species, Groenlandaspis howittensis (Placodermi, Arthrodira) from the Middle Devonian of Mount Howitt, Victoria, Australia.
PeerJ
Placoderm
Arthrodire
Devonian
Phylogenetic analysis
Dentition
Morphology
title Unique dental arrangement in a new species, Groenlandaspis howittensis (Placodermi, Arthrodira) from the Middle Devonian of Mount Howitt, Victoria, Australia.
title_full Unique dental arrangement in a new species, Groenlandaspis howittensis (Placodermi, Arthrodira) from the Middle Devonian of Mount Howitt, Victoria, Australia.
title_fullStr Unique dental arrangement in a new species, Groenlandaspis howittensis (Placodermi, Arthrodira) from the Middle Devonian of Mount Howitt, Victoria, Australia.
title_full_unstemmed Unique dental arrangement in a new species, Groenlandaspis howittensis (Placodermi, Arthrodira) from the Middle Devonian of Mount Howitt, Victoria, Australia.
title_short Unique dental arrangement in a new species, Groenlandaspis howittensis (Placodermi, Arthrodira) from the Middle Devonian of Mount Howitt, Victoria, Australia.
title_sort unique dental arrangement in a new species groenlandaspis howittensis placodermi arthrodira from the middle devonian of mount howitt victoria australia
topic Placoderm
Arthrodire
Devonian
Phylogenetic analysis
Dentition
Morphology
url https://peerj.com/articles/18759.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT austinnfitzpatrick uniquedentalarrangementinanewspeciesgroenlandaspishowittensisplacodermiarthrodirafromthemiddledevonianofmounthowittvictoriaaustralia
AT alicemclement uniquedentalarrangementinanewspeciesgroenlandaspishowittensisplacodermiarthrodirafromthemiddledevonianofmounthowittvictoriaaustralia
AT johnalong uniquedentalarrangementinanewspeciesgroenlandaspishowittensisplacodermiarthrodirafromthemiddledevonianofmounthowittvictoriaaustralia