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Australian Journal of Zoology Australian Journal of Zoology Society
Evolutionary, molecular and comparative zoology
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Taxonomic revision of buchanosteoid placoderms (Arthrodira) from the Early Devonian of south-eastern Australia and Arctic Russia

J. A. Long A D , E. Mark-Kurik B and G. C. Young C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, PO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia.

B Institute of Geology at Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, 19086 Tallinn, Estonia.

C Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia.

D Corresponding author. Email: john.long@flinders.edu.au

Australian Journal of Zoology 62(1) 26-43 https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO13081
Submitted: 10 October 2013  Accepted: 3 December 2013   Published: 26 May 2014

Abstract

The ‘buchanosteid’ placoderms are best known from the Early Devonian of Australia, but also occur in China, Russia, Central Asia and the Middle East. Here we rediagnose the type species Buchanosteus confertituberculatus (Hills 1936) from the type locality at Buchan, Victoria, in the light of new material of both head and trunk shields. The superfamily Buchanosteoidea Denison, 1978 is redefined to unite taxa that share a similar skull roof with separate rostro-pineal (ethmoid) bone, and postethmoid skull pattern characterised by a large trapezoidal nuchal, strap-like short and broad preorbitals, large subrectangular centrals, small postorbitals not contacting the paranuchals, and large, elongate marginal plates. The Family Buchanosteidae is redefined on skull roof and parasphenoid shape and trunk armour features as a monotypic family within the Buchanosteoidea. A new family (Parabuchanosteidae nov.) includes taxa with the posterior lateral plate overlapping the anterior dorsolateral plate externally. Two new buchanosteids are described, Richardosteus barwickorum gen. et sp. nov., from Burrinjuck, south-eastern Australia, and Urvaspis lithuanica gen. et sp. nov., from Severnaya Zemlya, Russia.


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