Artistic reconstruction of PterichthyodesPterichthyodes milleri reconstruction showing body armour and tail scalesOutdated reconstruction by F. John depicting Pterichthyodes (here referred to as "Pterichthys") as terrestrial
Descriptionedit
As with all other antiarchs, Pterichthyodes had heavily armored heads and forebodies, while their scaly tails were unarmored. Specimen length ranges from 8 inches (20 cm) to 12 inches (30 cm).[1] As placoderms, they were members of the earliest known vertebrates to possessjaws, though they had grinding plates rather than teeth. The generic name of Pterichthyodes refers directly to their odd wing-like appendages ("pterichthys" being a compound crassis word from Ancient Greek for "wing-fish"), which correspond to and were derived from the pectoral fins seen in modern fish and other non-antiarch placoderms. Fossils of Pterichtyodes showing eyes positioned on the direct of the head and a "ventrally flattened trunk shield" suggest that it was a "bottom dweller", living at the bottom of lakes, where it might have crawled using its pectoral appendages.[1] It has also been theorized that Pterichthyodes and other antiarchs used these appendages to bury itself.[2]
Pterichthyodes would have fed by browsing shallower areas of the lake bed for decaying detritus.[2]
Referencesedit
^ abcdPalmer, Douglas; et al. (2009). Prehistoric Life: The Definitive Visual History of Life on Earth (first American ed.). New York: Dorling Kindersley. p. 134. ISBN978-0-7566-5573-0.
pterichthyodes, genus, antiarch, placoderm, fishes, from, devonian, period, fossils, have, been, discovered, scotland, they, were, first, species, recognized, what, they, were, their, fossils, common, sandstone, formation, studied, geologists, early, 19th, cen. Pterichthyodes is a genus of antiarch placoderm fishes from the Devonian period Its fossils have been discovered in Scotland 1 They were one of the first species recognized for what they were as their fossils are common in the Old Red Sandstone formation studied by geologists in the early 19th century Due to their extreme divergence from modern day fish they were a puzzle unsolved until Charles Darwin brought forward his theories on evolution citation needed PterichthyodesTemporal range Middle Devonian 1 PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg NPterichthyodes milleri fossil on display at the University of Michigan Exhibit Museum of Natural HistoryScientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass PlacodermiOrder AntiarchiFamily PterichthyodidaeStensio 1948Genus PterichthyodesBleeker 1859Type species Pterichthyodes milleri Areas where Pterichthyodes has been foundSynonyms Pterichthys Artistic reconstruction of Pterichthyodes Pterichthyodes milleri reconstruction showing body armour and tail scalesOutdated reconstruction by F John depicting Pterichthyodes here referred to as Pterichthys as terrestrialDescription editAs with all other antiarchs Pterichthyodes had heavily armored heads and forebodies while their scaly tails were unarmored Specimen length ranges from 8 inches 20 cm to 12 inches 30 cm 1 As placoderms they were members of the earliest known vertebrates to possess jaws though they had grinding plates rather than teeth The generic name of Pterichthyodes refers directly to their odd wing like appendages pterichthys being a compound crassis word from Ancient Greek for wing fish which correspond to and were derived from the pectoral fins seen in modern fish and other non antiarch placoderms Fossils of Pterichtyodes showing eyes positioned on the direct of the head and a ventrally flattened trunk shield suggest that it was a bottom dweller living at the bottom of lakes where it might have crawled using its pectoral appendages 1 It has also been theorized that Pterichthyodes and other antiarchs used these appendages to bury itself 2 Pterichthyodes would have fed by browsing shallower areas of the lake bed for decaying detritus 2 References edit a b c d Palmer Douglas et al 2009 Prehistoric Life The Definitive Visual History of Life on Earth first American ed New York Dorling Kindersley p 134 ISBN 978 0 7566 5573 0 a b Benton Michael J 2005 Early Palaeozoic Fishes Google eBook Vertebrate Palaeontology third ed Malden Massachusetts Blackwell Publishing pp 58 63 ISBN 0 632 05637 1 nbsp Paleontology portal Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Pterichthyodes amp oldid 1126690807, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
