''Rolfosteus'' is an extinct monospecific genus of arthrodire placoderm from the Early Frasnian stage of the Late Devonian period, found at the Gogo Formation of Western Australia.
[DENNIS, KIM, and R. S. Miles. "Eubrachythoracid arthrodires with tubular rostral plates from Gogo, Western Australia." Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 67.4 (1979): 297-328.]
The creature with skull reaching
had tough plating on the front of its body. Like other arthrodires such as ''Coccosteus'' and the giant ''Dunkleosteus'', it had sharp, bony plates in its mouth which formed a turtle-like beak for cutting prey to pieces. ''Rolfosteuss most unusual feature was its highly elongated snout, which may have been used to enhance its sense of smell, as well as increase its hydrodynamic streamlining.
Phylogeny
''Rolfosteus'' is a member of the family (biology), family Camuropiscidae under the superfamily (biology), superfamily Incisoscutoidea, which belongs to the clade Coccosteomorphi, one of the two major clades within Eubrachythoraci.
The cladogram below shows the phylogeny of ''Rolfosteus'':
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References
Further reading
* Long, John A. The Rise of Fishes: 500 Million Years of Evolution Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996.
Camuropiscidae
Devonian animals of Australia
Late Devonian fish
Fossils of Australia
Fossil taxa described in 1979
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