Neopetalichthys
Neopetalichthys yenmenpaensis is an extinct petalichthid placoderm from the Early Devonian of China.
| Neopetalichthys Temporal range: Emsian | |
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| Genus: | Neopetalichthys |
| Species: | N. yenmenpaensis |
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| Neopetalichthys yenmenpaensis Liu, 1973 | |
The holotype and only known specimen is a poorly preserved partial, and elongated skull from Emsian-aged strata in Sichuan. The skull may be around 8.5 cm (3.3 in) in length.[1]
Denison 1978 questions Neopetalichthys' placement within Petalichthyida, regarding it as Placodermi incertae sedis, though he does acknowledge that the skull has anatomical features in common with petalichthyids.[1]). According to Zhu's 1991 redescription of Diandongpetalichthys,[2] Neopetalichthys' status as a petalichthyid is confirmed, though, in that study, it is regarded as a basal incertae sedis.[3]
Quasipetalichthys is possibly closely related to Neopetalichthys, and may or may not be placed together within Quasipetalichthyidae.
- Denison, Robert (1978). Placodermi Volume 2 of Handbook of Paleoichthyology'. Stuttgart New York: Gustav Fischer Verlag. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-89574-027-4.
- Zhu, M. "New information on Diandongpetalichthys (Placodermi: Petalichthyida)." Early vertebrates and related problems of evolutionary biology. Science Press, Beijing (1991): 179-192.
- Zhu, Min & Wang, Junqing (October 1996). "A NEW MACROPETALICHTHYID FROM CHINA, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE ZOOGEOGRAPHY OF THE MACROPETALICHTHYIDAE (PLACODERMI)" (PDF). Vertebrata PalAsiatica. 34 (4): 253–268.
