Palaeomylus (meaning 'ancient grinder') is an extinct Devonian ptychodontid placoderm fish.

Palaeomylus
Palaeomylus upper and lower tooth plates from two similarly sized individuals from Wisconsin and Ohio.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Placodermi
Order: Ptyctodontida
Family: Ptyctodontidae
Genus: Palaeomylus
Woodward, 1891[1]
Type species
Palaeomylus frangens
(Newberry, 1878)

There are seven species accepted in this genus:[1][2]

Etymology

edit

The generic name is derived from Greek (Palaeo, meaning "ancient") and (mylos, meaning "grinder").

Not to be confused with the junior homonym Palaeomylus (Meng, Wyss, Hu, Wang, Bowen & Koch, 2005), which is an early diverging member of the mammal group Glires.[3]

Discovery

edit

P. greenei, P. crassus, and the type species P. frangens were originally classified as a species of Rhynchodus, before being moved to a new genus, Palaeomylus, in 1891. The first was found in Wisconsin, while the latter two species were found in Ohio. P. predator was found near Gerolstein, Germany.[4]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Palaeomylus Woodward, 1891". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  2. ^ "Palaeomylus Woodward, 1891". The Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  3. ^ Meng, Jin; Wyss, André R.; Hu, Yaoming; Wang, Yuanqing; Bowen, Gabriel J.; Koch, Paul L. (May 2005). "Glires (Mammalia) from the Late Paleocene Bayan Ulan Locality of Inner Mongolia". American Museum Novitates (3473): 1–25. doi:10.1206/0003-0082(2005)473[0001:GMFTLP]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0003-0082.
  4. ^ Eastman, C. R. (1898). "Dentition of Devonian Ptyctodontidae (Continued)". The American Naturalist. 32 (380): 545–560. doi:10.1086/276968. ISSN 0003-0147. JSTOR 2454480.