Devonian Fish

[Victor Torres]

Good afternoon.  

 

This fish and mold with neither head or tail comes from the same group of concretions that yielded the Devonian trilobite Eldredgeia.

The specimen is a body of 29 mm in length and 15 mm at its widest part. The lack of head complicates the ID. I believe it is a small type of cephalaspis such as Pattenaspis, Mimetaspis o Diademaspis, but I am looking for help to ID it.

 

I would appreciate any help I can get

 

Thank you,

 

 

[Peat Burns]

Looks like a conulariid.  Awesome find!

[Kane]

I second conularid, and a very exceptionally well preserved one at that. Most Devonian fish will appear as plates that are mostly tubercular in texture as opposed to these ridges/striations we see on the conularia. 

[westcoast]

Really nice find!

[oilshale]

For sure conularid 

 

[Victor Torres]

Very nice photo. I am convinced it is a Conularidae. 

Thank you.

 

This is very helpful.

 

If it is Paraconularia ulrichana from the Eifelian it was found associated with Eldredgeia, I believe Eldredgeia eocryphaeus, reported from the Scaphiocoelia Assemblage Zone in the Lower Member of the Belem Formation, Lower Devonian.

 

Are my stratigraphic ranges right?

[oilshale]

Victor, correct, as far as I know Eldredgeia eocryphaeus is also reported from the Belén Formation.

Thomas

[Victor Torres]

Thank you Thomas.

 

What puzzles me is that Eldredgeia eocryphaeus is reported from the Lochkovian-Pragian while Paraconularia ulrichana from the Eifelian.

 

If the known stratigraphic ranges for these species do not overlap perhaps the ranges will have to be updated.

 

Victor