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By oilshale
Chimaera
Kingdom: Animalia
Eon: Phanerozoic
Era: Paleozoic
Period: Carboniferous
Sub Period: Mississippian
Epoch: Late
International Age: Serpukhovian
Big Snowy Group
Heath Formation
Bear Gulch Bed
Acquired by: Purchase/Trade
Length: 6 cm
Bear Gulch
Fergus County
Montana
United States
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
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