Athena Review Image Archive ™
Bothriolepis canadensis
Bothriolepis canadensis (A: Field Mus.Nat Hist; B: reconstruction )
Bothriolepis canadensis was an armored fish or placoderm found during the Mid to Late Devonian period (387-360 mya). The
name means "pitted scale from Canada" ( bothrio- "pitted," -lepis
"scale"). It belongs to the class Placodermi, the order Antiarchi, and
the family Bothriolepididae. First discovered in 1840 by Eichwald,
its range of habitation seems to have corresponded with Devonian
continental coastlines.
Bothriolepis was the most widespread and diverse genus of antiarch placoderms, with over 100 species known from Mid to Late Devonian strata of all continents. Most (including B. canadensis) were relatively small, freshwater bottom-feeders with a body length of about 30cm. An exception was B. maxima, which had a carapace ca.100 cm (39 in) long.
All Bothriolepis
species had a heavily armoured head attached to the thoracic shield,
typical of placoderms. It also had a long pair of spine-like pectoral
fins, jointed at the base, which were used to raise itself out of the
mud. It had gills, in addition to a pair of pouches linked
to the esophagus that may have functioned as lungs. On the
front of its head was a keyhole-shaped opening along the midline on the
upper side for the eyes and nostrils, with its mouth on the lower side
near the front. It also had a separate bone partition or preorbital
recess enclosing the nasal capsules.
References:
Eichwald; 1840
Copyright © 1996-2020 Rust Family Foundation (All Rights Reserved).