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Draconichthys
''Draconichthys elegans'' (meaning "elegant dragon fish") a selenosteid arthrodire placoderm from the Late Frasnian Kellwasserkalk facies of the Anti-Atlas Mountains of what is now Morocco. During the Late Devonian, the region would have been a shallow, algae-dimmed sea. ''D. elegans'' differs from all other selenosteids in the structure of its gnathal plates, which are comparatively large, and have long teeth-like prongs. This feature strongly suggests that it was a predatory animal, and used its pronged gnathal plates to prevent seized prey from squirming out of its mouth. The anatomy of its skull, however, is otherwise very typical of selenosteids, being very similar to the genera ''Enseosteus ''Enseosteus'' is an extinct genus of small selenosteid arthrodire placoderms known from the Upper Frasnian Kellwasserkalk facies of Late Devonian Germany and Morocco. ''Enseosteus'' is very similar to the other Kellwasserkalk selenosteids, th ...'', '' Rhinosteus'', and '' Walt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Selenosteidae
Selenosteidae is an extinct family of small to large-sized arthrodire placoderms from the Late Devonian. With the exception of the Chinese ''Phymosteus'', selenosteids lived in shallow seas in what is now Eastern North America (the Cleveland Shale), Eastern Europe (Holy Cross Mountains, Poland, and the Kellwasserkalk fauna of Bad Wildungen), and Northeastern Africa (the Anti-Atlas Mountains, Morocco). Selenosteids have, in cross section, a rounded body, a blunt snout, and tremendous orbits. The lower jaws were slender, the inferognathals usually either being finely serrated, or adapted for crushing, though, in '' Draconichthys'', the inferognathals had long prongs for seizing prey. The rostrum is very small. Taxonomy Selenosteidae is a member of the clade Aspinothoracidi, which belongs to the clade Pachyosteomorphi, one of the two major clades within Eubrachythoraci. ''Gorgonichthys'' is closely related to the family Selenosteidae, and could possibly be included in the family. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Selenosteidae
Selenosteidae is an extinct family of small to large-sized arthrodire placoderms from the Late Devonian. With the exception of the Chinese ''Phymosteus'', selenosteids lived in shallow seas in what is now Eastern North America (the Cleveland Shale), Eastern Europe (Holy Cross Mountains, Poland, and the Kellwasserkalk fauna of Bad Wildungen), and Northeastern Africa (the Anti-Atlas Mountains, Morocco). Selenosteids have, in cross section, a rounded body, a blunt snout, and tremendous orbits. The lower jaws were slender, the inferognathals usually either being finely serrated, or adapted for crushing, though, in '' Draconichthys'', the inferognathals had long prongs for seizing prey. The rostrum is very small. Taxonomy Selenosteidae is a member of the clade Aspinothoracidi, which belongs to the clade Pachyosteomorphi, one of the two major clades within Eubrachythoraci. ''Gorgonichthys'' is closely related to the family Selenosteidae, and could possibly be included in the family. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frasnian
The Frasnian is one of two faunal stages in the Late Devonian Period. It lasted from million years ago to million years ago. It was preceded by the Givetian Stage and followed by the Famennian Stage. Major reef-building was under way during the Frasnian Stage, particularly in western Canada and Australia. On land, the first forests were taking shape. In North America, the Antler orogeny peaked, which were contemporary with the Bretonic phase of the Variscan orogeny in Europe. The Frasnian coincides with the second half of the "charcoal gap" in the fossil record, a time when atmospheric oxygen levels were below 13 percent, the minimum necessary to sustain wildfires. North American subdivisions of the Frasnian include * West Falls Group * Sonyea Group * Genesee Group Name and definition The Frasnian Stage was proposed in 1879 by French geologist Jules Gosselet Jules-Auguste Gosselet (19 April 1832 – 20 March 1916) was a French geologist born in Cambrai, France. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walterosteus
''Walterosteus'' is an extinct genus of small selenosteid arthrodire placoderms known from the Upper Frasnian Kellwasserkalk facies of Late Devonian Germany and Morocco. ''Walterosteus'' is very similar to the other Kellwasserkalk selenosteids. This similarity lead Denison (1978) to synonymize the genus, together with ''Ottonosteus'' (''O. jaekeli'' = ''E. hermanni''), into '' Enseosteus'', claiming that the former two genera are too similar to ''Enseosteus'' to merit separate genus status. Rücklin (2011) agrees with Denison's synonymizing of ''Ottonosteus'', but rejects Denison's synonymization of ''Walterosteus'', claiming how ''Walterosteus'' has a contact between the rostral plate Plate may refer to: Cooking * Plate (dishware), a broad, mainly flat vessel commonly used to serve food * Plates, tableware, dishes or dishware used for setting a table, serving food and dining * Plate, the content of such a plate (for example: ... and the pineal plate, which ''Enseosteus'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhinosteus
''Rhinosteus'' is an extinct genus of small to medium selenosteid arthrodire placoderms of the Late Devonian known from the Upper Frasnian Kellwasserkalk facies of Bad Wildungen, Germany and Morocco. Description ''Rhinosteus'' is a typical genus of Kellwasserkalk selenosteids, with short cheeks, and slender inferognathal (lower jaw) plates. However, two of the species, ''R. traquairi'' and ''R. tuberculatus'', have long, pointed rostrums, and tubercles on the plates. In ''R. traquairi'', the rostrum is sharply pointed, extending beyond the snout, and the tubercles are small and irregularly placed. In ''R. tuberculatus'', the rostrum is bluntly pointed, and the tubercles are large and plentiful. The species ''R. parvulus'' has a blunt rostrum that does not extend beyond the snout, and lacks tuberculation altogether. The average skull length of ''R. traquairi'' is about 11 centimetres. The average skull length of ''R. tuberculatus'' is 15 centimetres, while that of ''R. parvulus'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enseosteus
''Enseosteus'' is an extinct genus of small selenosteid arthrodire placoderms known from the Upper Frasnian Kellwasserkalk facies of Late Devonian Germany and Morocco. ''Enseosteus'' is very similar to the other Kellwasserkalk selenosteids, though, the type species, ''E. jaekelli'', has a bulbous, knob-shaped rostrum. Denison (1978) synonymizes the genera ''Ottonosteus'' (''O. jaekeli'' = ''E. hermanni'') and ''Walterosteus ''Walterosteus'' is an extinct genus of small selenosteid arthrodire placoderms known from the Upper Frasnian Kellwasserkalk facies of Late Devonian Germany and Morocco. ''Walterosteus'' is very similar to the other Kellwasserkalk selenosteids ...'' with ''Enseosteus'', claiming that the two genera are too similar to ''Enseosteus'' to merit separate genus status. Rücklin (2011) agrees with Denison's synonymizing of ''Ottonosteus'', but rejects Denison's synonymization of ''Walterosteus'', claiming how ''Walterosteus'' has a contact between the rostra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to the east, and the disputed territory of Western Sahara to the south. Mauritania lies to the south of Western Sahara. Morocco also claims the Spanish exclaves of Ceuta, Melilla and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, and several small Spanish-controlled islands off its coast. It spans an area of or , with a population of roughly 37 million. Its official and predominant religion is Islam, and the official languages are Arabic and Berber; the Moroccan dialect of Arabic and French are also widely spoken. Moroccan identity and culture is a mix of Arab, Berber, and European cultures. Its capital is Rabat, while its largest city is Casablanca. In a region inhabited since the Paleolithic Era over 300,000 years ago, the first Moroccan s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anti-Atlas
The Anti-Atlas ( ar, الأطلس الصغير, shi, Aṭlas Mẓẓiyn), also known as Lesser Atlas or Little Atlas is a mountain range in Morocco, a part of the Atlas Mountains in the northwest of Africa. The Anti-Atlas extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest toward the northeast, to the heights of Ouarzazate and further east to the city of Tafilalt, altogether a distance of approximately 500 km. The range borders on the Sahara to the south."Anti-Atlas" (or Jebel Saghru), ''The Encyclopædia Britannica'', 1910. In some contexts, the Anti-Atlas is considered separate from the Atlas Mountains system, as the prefix "anti" (i.e. opposite) implies. Geography The summits of the Anti-Atlas reach average heights of , with a few peaks reaching higher. To the north lies a plateau at 1700–1800 m in height. To the south lie the Sahara highlands at approximately 700 m. On the heights of Ouarzazate, the massif is cut through by the Draa valley, opening towards t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
