''Platylithophycus'' is an extinct
genus of
elasmobranchs that lived during the
Late Cretaceous. It is known from a single specimen from the
Niobrara Formation of
Kansas, United States. It was originally identified as the
fronds of a
codiacean alga, then later as the
cuttlebone of a
cuttlefish
Cuttlefish or cuttles are marine molluscs of the order Sepiida. They belong to the class Cephalopoda which also includes squid, octopuses, and nautiluses. Cuttlefish have a unique internal shell, the cuttlebone, which is used for control of ...
.
It was most recently reidentified as the
gill arches
Branchial arches, or gill arches, are a series of bony "loops" present in fish, which support the gills. As gills are the primitive condition of vertebrates, all vertebrate embryos develop pharyngeal arches, though the eventual fate of these arc ...
and
rakers
Rakers is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Aaron Rakers (born 1977), American baseball pitcher
*Jason Rakers (born 1973), American baseball player
*Judith Rakers (born 1976), German television presenter
See also
*Raker (disamb ...
of an elasmobranch of uncertain affinities.
It might have been a
filter feeding mackerel shark related to ''
Aquilolamna
''Aquilolamna'' is an extinct genus of shark-like elasmobranch from the Late Cretaceous (Turonian)-aged Agua Nueva Formation of Mexico. It is currently known to contain only one species, ''A. milarcae'', also known as the eagle shark, and it is ...
''.
References
Elasmobranchii
Monotypic prehistoric cartilaginous fish genera
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