Echinochimaera snyderi Lund, 1988

Taxonomy

Chimaera

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Order: Chimaeriformes
Family: Echinochimaeridae
Genus: Echinochimaera
Species: Echinochimaera snyderi
Author Citation Lund, 1988

Geological Time Scale

Eon: Phanerozoic
Era: Paleozoic
Period: Carboniferous
Sub Period: Mississippian
Epoch: Late
International Age: Serpukhovian

Stratigraphy

Big Snowy Group
Heath Formation
Bear Gulch Bed

Provenance

Acquired by: Purchase/Trade

Dimensions

Length: 6 cm

Location

Bear Gulch
Fergus County
Montana
United States

• bear gulch
• carboniferous
• echinochimaera
• fergus county
• heath shale
• meltoni
• serpukhovian
• snyderi
• tff-oilshale-ch1034

Comments

Echinochimaera snyderi belongs to the peculiar looking chimaeras (also called sea cats, ratfish or ghost sharks). Chimaeras possess two dorsal fins; the first dorsal fin is supported by a movable spine associated with a venom gland. Recent sea cats live in all oceans of the world, preferably at depths between 200 and 2000m.

This juvenile specimen of Echinochimaera snyderi is most likely a female; adult males are slightly smaller and have a more curved dorsal spine.

 

References:

R. Lund. 1988. New Mississippian Holocephali (Chondrichthyes) and the evolution of the Holoceephali. In Teeth Revisited: Proceedings of the VII Int. Symp. on Dental Morph., Paris, May 1986, Russel, D.E., Santoro, J.P. and Sigogneau-Russel, D., Eds., Mem. Mus. Natn. Hist. Nat., Paris, (serie C) 53:195-205

R. Lund and E. Grogan. 2004. Five new euchondrocephalan Chondrichthyes from the Bear Gulch Limestone (Serpukhovian, Namurian E2b) of Montana, USA. In G. Arratia, M. Wilson, R. Cloutier (eds.), Recent Advances in the Origin and Early Radiation of Vertebrates 505-531