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Stethacanthid
Stethacanthidae is an extinct family of prehistoric holocephalians. It is estimated to have existed approximately between 380 and 300 million years ago. Members of this family are noted for their peculiar dorsal fin. Introduction The taxonomic history of the Family Stethacanthidae has been rather complicated because the findings of complete skeletons are very unusual, and as result early workers such as St. John & Worthen, and Newberry were unable to recognise the association of the spine, dentition teeth, and dermal denticles of these sharks. The genus ''Stethacanthus'' was established by Newberry (1889)NEWBERRY, J.S., 1889. The Paleozoic fishes of North America. ''United States Geological Survey Monograph'', 16, 340pp. for a series of large thin walled, cartilage-cored spines encountered in Mississippian (Carboniferous Period) rocks of the mid-continental United States. Decomposition of the internal cartilage and compression during burial resulted in distortion of the spines, ...
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Stethacanthus
''Stethacanthus'' is an extinct genus of shark-like holocephaliansCoates, M., Gess, R., Finarelli, J., Criswell, K., Tietjen, K. 2016. A symmoriiform chondrichthyan braincase and the origin of chimaeroid fishes. Nature. doi: 10.1038/nature20806 which lived from the Late Devonian to Late Carboniferous epoch, dying out around 298.9 million years ago. Fossils have been found in Asia, Europe and North America. Etymology ''Stethacanthus'' comes from the Greek στῆθος (''stēthos''), meaning "chest", and ἄκανθος (''akanthos''), meaning "spine" or "thorn". The name refers to the distinctive anvil-shaped first dorsal fin and spine displayed by mature males of the genus. Description ''Stethacanthus'' had different sizes depending on species, ''S. altonensis'' had length about , while ''S. productus'' reached . In many respects, it had a shark-like appearance. However, it is best known for its unusually shaped dorsal fin, which resembled an anvil or ironing board. Smal ...
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Akmonistion
''Akmonistion'' is an extinct genus of holocephalian that lived in the Early Carboniferous. The genus contains a single species, ''A. zangerli'', discovered by Stan Wood in 1982. It is distinguished by an unusual enlarged formation of the dorsal fin, called a "spine-brush complex", of unknown function. This is also found in the better known genus ''Stethacanthus''. Remains have only been found near Bearsden Bearsden () is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the northwestern fringe of Greater Glasgow. Approximately from Glasgow city centre, Glasgow City Centre, the town is effectively a suburb, and its housing development coincided with t ... in Scotland. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek “''akmon''” (“anvil”) + ''“istion''” (“sail”) referring to the appearance of its first dorsal fin. It reached in length. Akmonistion NT small.jpg, Reconstruction References Carboniferous fish of Europe Fossil taxa described in 2001 Symm ...
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Upper Devonian
The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, where rocks from this period were first studied. The first significant adaptive radiation of life on dry land occurred during the Devonian. Free-sporing vascular plants began to spread across dry land, forming extensive forests which covered the continents. By the middle of the Devonian, several groups of plants had evolved leaves and true roots, and by the end of the period the first seed-bearing plants appeared. The arthropod groups of myriapods, arachnids and hexapods also became well-established early in this period, after starting their expansion to land at least from the Ordovician period. Fish reached substantial diversity during this time, leading the Devonian to often be dubbed the Age of Fishes. The placoderms began dominating ...
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Rostrum (anatomy)
Rostrum (from Latin ', meaning ''beak'') is a term used in anatomy for a number of phylogenetically unrelated structures in different groups of animals. Invertebrates * In crustaceans, the rostrum is the forward extension of the carapace in front of the eyes. It is generally a rigid structure, but can be connected by a hinged joint, as seen in Leptostraca. * Among insects, the rostrum is the name for the piercing mouthparts of the order Hemiptera as well as those of the snow scorpionflies, among many others. The long snout of weevils is also called a rostrum. * Gastropod molluscs have a rostrum or proboscis. * Cephalopod molluscs have hard beak-like mouthparts referred to as the rostrum. File:Washington DC Zoo - Macrobrachium rosenbergii 6.jpg, Crustacean: the rostrum of the shrimp '' Macrobrachium rosenbergii'' is serrated along both edges. File:Gminatus australis with Beetle.jpg, Insect: assassin bug piercing its prey with its rostrum File:Architeuthis beak.jpg, Ceph ...
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Serpukhovian
The Serpukhovian is in the ICS geologic timescale the uppermost stage or youngest age of the Mississippian, the lower subsystem of the Carboniferous. The Serpukhovian age lasted from Ma to Ma. It is preceded by the Visean and is followed by the Bashkirian. The Serpukhovian correlates with the lower part of the Namurian Stage of European stratigraphy and the middle and upper parts of the Chesterian Stage of North American stratigraphy. Name and definition The Serpukhovian Stage was proposed in 1890 by Russian stratigrapher Sergei Nikitin and was introduced in the official stratigraphy of European Russia in 1974. It was named after the city of Serpukhov, near Moscow. The ICS later used the upper Russian subdivisions of the Carboniferous in its international geologic time scale. The base of the Serpukhovian is informally defined by the first appearance of the conodont '' Lochriea ziegleri'', though the utility and systematic stability of this species is not yet certain. No ...
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Type Species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen(s). Article 67.1 A similar concept is used for suprageneric groups and called a type genus. In botanical nomenclature, these terms have no formal standing under the code of nomenclature, but are sometimes borrowed from zoological nomenclature. In botany, the type of a genus name is a specimen (or, rarely, an illustration) which is also the type of a species name. The species name that has that type can also be referred to as the type of the genus name. Names of genus and family ranks, the various subdivisions of those ranks, and some higher-rank names based on genus names, have such types.
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Morphology (anatomy)
Morphology is a branch of biology dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features. This includes aspects of the outward appearance (shape, structure, colour, pattern, size), i.e. external morphology (or eidonomy), as well as the form and structure of the internal parts like bones and organs, i.e. internal morphology (or anatomy). This is in contrast to physiology, which deals primarily with function. Morphology is a branch of life science dealing with the study of gross structure of an organism or taxon and its component parts. History The etymology of the word "morphology" is from the Ancient Greek (), meaning "form", and (), meaning "word, study, research". While the concept of form in biology, opposed to function, dates back to Aristotle (see Aristotle's biology), the field of morphology was developed by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1790) and independently by the German anatomist and physiologist Karl Friedrich Bu ...
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Cladodont
This is a typical Cladodont tooth, of a Glikmanius.html" ;"title="shark called ''Glikmanius">shark called ''Glikmanius'' Cladodont (from Latin cladus, meaning branch and Greek Odon, meaning tooth) is the term for a common category of early Devonian shark known primarily for its "multi-cusped" tooth consisting of one long blade surrounded by many short, fork-like tines, designed to catch food that was swallowed whole, instead of being used to saw off chunks of meat like many modern sharks. The skinny teeth would puncture and grasp the prey, keeping it from wriggling free. Because the most common fossil evidence of cartilaginous fish is teeth, this term is also used for the fossilised teeth themselves. History The fossil tooth of '' Cladodus belifer'', which lived about 260,000,000 years ago in what would someday be Illinois. The roundness of the main tooth, and the small tines around it, show it to be a cladodont. The earliest known shark, ''Cladoselache'', was a cladodont ex ...
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Dorsal Fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through convergent evolution they have independently evolved external superficial fish-like body plans adapted to their marine environments, including most numerously fish, but also mammals such as cetaceans ( whales, dolphins, and porpoises), and even extinct ancient marine reptiles such as various known species of ichthyosaurs. Most species have only one dorsal fin, but some have two or three. Wildlife biologists often use the distinctive nicks and wear patterns which develop on the dorsal fins of large cetaceans to identify individuals in the field. The bony or cartilaginous bones that support the base of the dorsal fin in fish are called ''pterygiophores''. Functions The main purpose of the dorsal fin is to stabilize the animal against r ...
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Supraorbital
Supraorbital refers to the region immediately above the eye sockets, where in humans the eyebrows are located. It denotes several anatomical features, such as: *Supraorbital artery *Supraorbital foramen *Supraorbital gland *Supraorbital nerve *Supraorbital ridge *Supraorbital vein The supraorbital vein is a vein of the forehead. It communicates with the frontal branch of the superficial temporal vein. It passes through the supraorbital notch, and merges with the angular vein to form the superior ophthalmic vein. The sup ...
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Cusp (anatomy)
A cusp is a pointed, projecting, or elevated feature. In animals, it is usually used to refer to raised points on the crowns of teeth. The concept is also used with regard to the leaflets of the four heart valves. The mitral valve, which has two cusps, is also known as the bicuspid valve, and the tricuspid valve has three cusps. In humans A cusp is an occlusal or incisal eminence on a tooth. Canine teeth, otherwise known as cuspids, each possess a single cusp, while premolars, otherwise known as bicuspids, possess two each. Molars normally possess either four or five cusps. In certain populations the maxillary molars, especially first molars, will possess a fifth cusp situated on the mesiolingual cusp known as the Cusp of Carabelli. Buccal Cusp- One other variation of the upper first premolar is the 'Uto-Aztecan' upper premolar. It is a bulge on the buccal cusp that is only found in Native American Indians, with highest frequencies of occurrence in Arizona. The name is ...
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