Dunkleosteidae
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Dunkleosteidae
Dunkleosteidae is an extinct family (biology), family of arthrodire placoderms that lived during the Devonian period. The gigantic apex predator ''Dunkleosteus terrelli'' is the best known member of this group. Phylogeny While members of Dunkleosteidae were previously thought to be close relatives of the genus ''Dinichthys'' (when they were not synonym (taxonomy), synonymized as each other) and grouped together in the family Dinichthyidae, more recent phylogenetic studies have shown that the two taxon, taxa represent two very distinct clades within Arthrodira. Dunkleosteidae was then established as the sister taxon to the family Panxiosteidae, which together comprised the superfamily (taxonomy), superfamily Dunkleosteoidea (one of the three major clades of Eubrachythoraci). Dunkleosteidae was thus cladistically defined as including the type genus ''Dunkleosteus'' and all other genera in Dunkleosteoidea more closely related to ''Dunkleosteus'' than to ''Panxiosteus''. The phylogen ...
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Eastmanosteus
''Eastmanosteus'' ("Eastman's bone") is a fossil genus of Dunkleosteidae, dunkleosteid placoderms. It was closely related to the giant ''Dunkleosteus'', but differed from that genus in size, in possessing a distinctive tuberculated bone ornament, a differently shaped nuchal plate and a more zig-zagging course of the sutures of the skull roof. Species of ''Eastmanosteus'' had powerful jaws with sharp cutting edges and were likely active predators. Fossils have been found in many parts of the world in marine sediments dating from the Middle to Late Devonian. They were medium-to-large fish, with specimens ''E. pustulosus'' and ''E. licharevi'' approaching a total length of 3 metres. Complete exoskeletons with soft-tissue traces of ''E. calliaspis'' from Australia make this one of the best known dunkleosteids. Phylogeny ''Eastmanosteus'' and its relative ''Dunkleosteus'' belong to the family (biology), family Dunkleosteidae. The phylogeny of ''Eastmanosteus'' can be shown in the clad ...
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Dunkleosteus
''Dunkleosteus'' is an extinct genus of large arthrodira, arthrodire ("jointed-neck") fish that existed during the Late Devonian period, about 382–358 million years ago. It was a pelagic fish inhabiting open waters, and one of the first vertebrate apex predators of any ecosystem. ''Dunkleosteus'' consists of ten species, some of which are among the largest placoderms ("plate-skinned") to have ever lived: ''D. terrelli'', ''D. belgicus'', ''D. denisoni'', ''D. marsaisi'', ''D. magnificus'', ''D. missouriensis'', ''D. newberryi'', ''D. amblyodoratus'', ''D. raveri'', and ''D. tuderensis.'' However, the validity of several of these species is unclear. The largest and best known species is ''D. terrelli''. Since body shape is not known, various methods of estimation put the living total length of the largest known specimen of ''D. terrelli'' between long and its weight around . Lengths of or more are poorly supported, with the most recent and extensive studies on the body shape a ...
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Xiangshuiosteus
''Xiangshuiosteus wui'' is an extinct monospecific genus of brachythoracid arthrodire placoderm from the Late Emsian stage of the Early Devonian epoch, discovered in Wuding County of Yunnan province, China. It has recently been reassessed as a dunkleosteid. Etymology The generic name literally translates as "(Pinyin:Xiāngshuǐ) + bone," but actually refers to Xiangshui Valley,Not to be confused with Xiangshui County ()(Pinyin:Xiǎng shuǐ) in Jiangsu province the district in Wuding County where the holotype was found. The specific name honors Wu Baosheng, the gentleman who provided the holotype to Wang Junqing, the species' describer. Specimen and taxonomy ''X. wui'' is known from a flattened, "Buddhist cap" shaped skull roof. The skull roof is strongly reminiscent of those of coccosteids, but also has anatomical features otherwise diagnostic of buchanosteids. This mix of anatomy lead its describer, Wang Junqing, to suggest that ''X. wui'' is the sister taxon of Coccosteida ...
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Golshanichthys
''Golshanichthys'' is an extinct monospecific genus of dunkleosteid from the Late Devonian: Frasnian stage from Kerman, Iran. Phylogeny ''Golshanichthys'' belongs to the family Dunkleosteidae, closely related to the giant ''Dunkleosteus''. The phylogeny of ''Golshanichthys'' can be shown in the cladogram below: Alternatively, the subsequent 2016 Zhu ''et al.'' study using a larger morphological dataset recovered Panxiosteidae well outside of Dunkleosteoidea, leaving the status of Dunkleosteidae Dunkleosteidae is an extinct family (biology), family of arthrodire placoderms that lived during the Devonian period. The gigantic apex predator ''Dunkleosteus terrelli'' is the best known member of this group. Phylogeny While members of Dunkleo ... as a clade grouping separate from Dunkleosteoidea in doubt, as shown in the cladogram below: References Arthrodires Placoderms of Asia {{placoderm-stub ...
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Dunkleosteoidea
Dunkleosteoidea is an extinct superfamily of arthrodire placoderms that lived during the Devonian period. The gigantic apex predator ''Dunkleosteus terrelli'' is the best known member of this group. Phylogeny Eubrachythoraci is divided into the clades Coccosteomorphi and Pachyosteomorphi, the latter of which can be further sub-divided into Aspinothoracidi and Dunkleosteoidea. Dunkleosteoidea was then considered to consist of the two sister families Dunkleosteidae and Panxiosteidae. However, the 2016 Zhu ''et al.'' phylogenetic study using a larger morphological dataset recovered Panxiosteidae well outside of Dunkleosteoidea, leaving the status of Dunkleosteidae Dunkleosteidae is an extinct family (biology), family of arthrodire placoderms that lived during the Devonian period. The gigantic apex predator ''Dunkleosteus terrelli'' is the best known member of this group. Phylogeny While members of Dunkleo ... as a clade grouping separate from Dunkleosteoidea in doubt, as show ...
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Kiangyousteus
''Kiangyousteus'' is an extinct monotypic genus of dunkleosteidae, dunkleosteid from the Middle Devonian: Givetian aged Guanwu Formation in the Sichuan province of south-western China. The type species, ''Kiangyousteus yohii'', was the first known arthrodire from Asia. Etymology ''Kiangyousteus'' is named after Jiangyou (formerly ‘Kiangyou’) district of Sichuan Province, the location where the fossils were found in 1953 by Professor S. H. Yoh of Peking University. Phylogeny ''Kiangyousteus'' belongs to the family (biology), family Dunkleosteidae. The phylogeny of ''Kiangyousteus'' can be shown in the cladogram below: Alternatively, the subsequent 2016 Zhu ''et al.'' study using a larger morphology (biology), morphological dataset recovered Panxiosteidae well outside of Dunkleosteoidea, leaving the status of Dunkleosteidae as a clade grouping separate from Dunkleosteoidea in doubt, as shown in the cladogram below: References

Arthrodires Placoderms of Asia {{pl ...
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Panxiosteidae
Panxiosteidae is an extinct family of arthrodire placoderms that lived during the Devonian period. Phylogeny The family Panxiosteidae was erected by Wang in 1979. Members of the family are noted for showing morphologically intermediate traits between coccosteids and dunkleosteids. In the 2010 Carr & Hlavin phylogenetic study, Panxiosteidae was recognized as the sister taxon to the family Dunkleosteidae, which together comprised the superfamily Dunkleosteoidea (one of the three major clades of Eubrachythoraci). The phylogeny of Panxiosteidae from the 2013 Zhu & Zhu study is shown in the cladogram below: However, the subsequent 2016 Zhu ''et al.'' study using a larger morphological dataset recovered Panxiosteidae well outside of Dunkleosteoidea, instead within Coccosteomorphi and then Coccosteoidea as the sister group of Coccosteidae Coccosteidae is a family (biology), family of arthrodire placoderms from the Early to Late Devonian. Fossils appear in various strata in Eu ...
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Dinichthys
''Dinichthys'' (from , 'terrible' and 'fish') is an extinct monospecific genus of large marine arthrodire placoderm from the Late Devonian (Famennian stage) measuring around long. Fossils were recovered from the Ohio Shale Formation along the Olentangy River in Delaware County, Ohio. Classification History ''Dinichthys'' was originally described in 1868 by John Newberry on the basis of an incomplete skull roof and mandibles (holotype AMNH 81). Subsequently, many unrelated large arthrodires were originally classified together within this genus, including species now assigned to ''Dunkleosteus'', ''Eastmanosteus'', and '' Titanichthys''. Notably, the type species of ''Dunkleosteus'' was originally described as ''Dinichthys terrelli'' by Newberry in 1873, and was later separated into ''Dunkleosteus'' by Jean-Pierre Lehman in 1956. ''Dunkleosteus'' was still thought to be closely related to ''Dinichthys'', and they were grouped together in the family Dinichthyidae. Howev ...
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Superfamily (taxonomy)
In biology, taxonomic rank (which some authors prefer to call nomenclatural rank because ranking is part of nomenclature rather than taxonomy proper, according to some definitions of these terms) is the relative or absolute level of a group of organisms (a ''taxon'') in a hierarchy that reflects evolutionary relationships. Thus, the most inclusive clades (such as Eukarya and Animalia) have the highest ranks, whereas the least inclusive ones (such as ''Homo sapiens'' or ''Bufo bufo'') have the lowest ranks. Ranks can be either relative and be denoted by an indented taxonomy in which the level of indentation reflects the rank, or absolute, in which various terms, such as species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, kingdom, and domain designate rank. This page emphasizes absolute ranks and the rank-based codes (the Zoological Code, the Botanical Code, the Code for Cultivated Plants, the Prokaryotic Code, and thCode for Viruses require them. However, absolute ranks are not req ...
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Clades
In biology, a clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach to taxonomy adopted by most biological fields. The common ancestor may be an individual, a population, or a species (extinct or extant). Clades are nested, one in another, as each branch in turn splits into smaller branches. These splits reflect evolutionary history as populations diverged and evolved independently. Clades are termed ''monophyletic'' (Greek: "one clan") groups. Over the last few decades, the cladistic approach has revolutionized biological classification and revealed surprising evolutionary relationships among organisms. Increasingly, taxonomists try to avoid naming taxa that are not clades; that is, taxa that are not monophyletic. Some of the relationships between organisms that the molecular biology arm of cladistics has revealed ...
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