Biology:Homostiidae

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Homostiidae (alternatively spelled Homosteidae) is a family of flattened arthrodire placoderms from the Early to Middle Devonian. Fossils appear in various strata in Europe, Russia, Morocco, Australia, Canada and Greenland.

Homostiids have flattened and elongated skulls, "toothless" jaws and large sizes, suggesting that many were probably filter feeders, similar to the noticeably flattened whale shark.[1][2][3][4] According to Denison 1978, primitive homostiids have moderately long median dorsal plates, whereas in "advanced" homostiids, the median dorsal tends to be short and broad.[5]: 69 

Classification

The family Homostiidae is considered the basal-most grouping within the suborder Brachythoraci, basal to the large sub-clade Eubrachythoraci, which includes the well-known Dunkleosteus, Dinichthys, etc. Homostiidae's placement within Brachythoraci can be shown in the cladogram below:[6]

Brachythoraci
Homostiidae
 

Homostius sulcatus

 
 

Antineosteus lehmani

 
 
 
Buchanosteoidea
 

Buchanosteus confertituberculatus

 
 

Goodradigbeeon australianum

 
 

Parabuchanosteus murrumbidgeeni

 
 
 
 

Dhanguura johnstoni

 
 
 

Gemuendenaspis angusta

 
 
 

Xiangshuiosteus wui

 
Eubrachythoraci
Coccosteomorphi
Coccosteoidea
 

Coccosteidae

 
 

Panxiosteidae

 
 
 

Incisoscutoidea

 
 
Pachyosteomorphi
 

Rhachiosteus pterygiatus

 
 
 

Dunkleosteoidea

 
 

Aspinothoracidi

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Genera

A comparatively large animal from the Middle Devonian of Siberia, with a head shield estimated around 40 centimeters long. Known only from an infragnathal bone, and an intero-lateral and a marginal plate.

A primitive homostiid from Emsian-aged strata of Morocco. Antineosteus' primitive anatomical features suggest it may be a precursor to Angarichthys, Atlantidosteus and Homosteus. Antineosteus lived sympatrically with the Moroccan species of Atlantidosteus.

This genus is known from species found in Emsian-aged Morocco and Middle Devonian Australia. Overall form is very similar to Antineosteus and Homosteus.

A primitive genus from Emsian-aged strata of Australia

A genus of homostiid from the Wee Jasper reef of New South Wales, Australia, living during the Early Devonian.[7]

Euleptaspis

This genus is known from isolated plates and fragments from Lower Devonian-aged strata in Spitzbergen and Germany. The holotype of the type species, E. depressa, is a paranuchal plate very similar to those seen in coccosteids.

A very large, primitive form from the Early Devonian Wee Jasper reef of New South Wales, Australia. Its discoverer, Gavin Young, hypothesizes that it may have been a filter-feeder.[8]

The type genus, known from both complete and fragmentary fossils in Europe, Russia, and North America.

Lophostracon

Luetkeichthys

Tityosteus is thought to be the largest vertebrate known from the Lower Devonian, with an estimated length of 2.5 meters. The holotype is an incomplete individual from the Hunsrück.[5]: 73 

References

  1. ↑ "Před 400 milióny lety u nás žili gigantičtí obratlovci" (in Czech). National Museum News. 4 December 2014. http://muzeum3000.nm.cz/veda/pred-400-miliony-lety-u-nas-zili-giganticti-obratlovci. 
  2. ↑ "The largest Lower Devonian placoderm-Antineosteus rufus sp. nov. from the Barrandian area (Czech Republic).". Bulletin of Geosciences 89 (3): 635–644. 2014. http://www.geology.cz/bulletin/fulltext/1450_Vaskaninova.pdf. 
  3. ↑ "Fish from the Emsian of Aragón". 2006. 
  4. ↑ "Was the Devonian placoderm Titanichthys a suspension feeder?". Royal Society Open Science 7 (5). May 2020. doi:10.1098/rsos.200272. PMID 32537223. Bibcode: 2020RSOS....700272C. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Handbook of Paleoichthyology. 2: Placodermi. Stuttgart New York: Gustav Fischer Verlag. 1978. ISBN 978-0-89574-027-4. 
  6. ↑ Zhu, You-An; Zhu, Min; Wang, Jun-Qing (1 April 2016). "Redescription of Yinostius major (Arthrodira: Heterostiidae) from the Lower Devonian of China, and the interrelationships of Brachythoraci". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 176 (4): 806–834. doi:10.1111/zoj.12356. ISSN 0024-4082. 
  7. ↑ Zapalski, Mikołaj K.; Berkowski, Błażej; Skompski, Stanisław; Pickett, John W.; Young, Gavin C. (2025). "Ancient depths: Unprecedented completeness of mesophotic coral-fish ecosystem from the Devonian of Eastern Gondwana". Gondwana Research 142: 252-261. ISSN 1342-937X. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1342937X25000887. 
  8. ↑ Zapalski, Mikołaj K.; Berkowski, Błażej; Skompski, Stanisław; Pickett, John W.; Young, Gavin C. (2025). "Ancient depths: Unprecedented completeness of mesophotic coral-fish ecosystem from the Devonian of Eastern Gondwana". Gondwana Research 142: 252-261. ISSN 1342-937X. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1342937X25000887. 

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