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Qikiqtania
''Qikiqtania'' (pronounced "kick-kiq-tani-ahh") is an extinct genus of elpistostegalian tetrapodomorph from the Late Devonian (early Frasnian stage) Fram Formation of Nunavut, Canada. The genus contains a single species, ''Q. wakei'', known from a partial skeleton. Analysis of the fin bones suggests that ''Qikiqtania'' was well-suited to swimming, and likely incapable of walking or supporting itself out of the water, as has been suggested for the closely related ''Tiktaalik''. Discovery and naming The holotype specimen of ''Qikiqtania'', NUFV 137, was discovered in 2004 in layers of the late Devonian (Frasnian)-dated Fram Formation of southern Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada. The holotype specimen consists of lower jaws, partial left upper jaw and palate, gulars, ceratohyals, an articulated left pectoral fin and various articulated scales. The fossil remains of Qikiqtania were discovered east of the site where Tiktaalik was discovered, but from a slightly lower horizon in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fram Formation
The Fram Formation is an Upper Devonian (Frasnian) sequence of rock strata on Ellesmere Island that came into prominence in 2006 with the discovery in its rocks of examples of the transitional fossil, ''Tiktaalik'', a sarcopterygian or lobe-finned fish showing many tetrapod characteristics. Fossils of ''Laccognathus embryi'', a porolepiform lobe-finned fish, and ''Qikiqtania'', a close relative of ''Tiktaalik'', were also found in the formation. The Fram Formation is a Middle to Upper Devonian clastic wedge forming an extensive continental facies consisting of sediments derived from deposits laid down in braided stream systems that formed some 375 million years ago,Fossil pollen suggest that these rocks lie within the early and middle Frasnian Stage of the Devonian. at a time when the North American craton ("Laurentia") was straddling the equator. Paleobiota Vertebrates See also * List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Nunavut * Escuminac Formation, another Frasnian-aged ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
