Placoderm from Latvia

[Mahnmut]

Hello dear fellow forum members,

some years ago I acquired some cheap shards of supposed placoderm armor from one of the baltic states, Latvia I think, and thats sadly all the infomation i got.

I just found the time to take a closer look at them and think that the three biggest parts seem to fit together, the rest is crumbs.

Is there anyone who can tell me more about what I have here, genus, family, anatomy...

Thanks

J

[Fossildude19]

I'm not sure there is enough there to say anything more than it is placoderm. 

 

@jdp

[jdp]

This looks a lot like the Lode Member material. Texture doesn't look quite right for a placoderm, though I guess it could be Bothriolepis of some sort. The foramina in between ridges makes me think this might be the tristychopterid from that formation, Eusthenopteron kurshi. But that's just a gut feeling, don't quote me on it.

[Fossildude19]

Potentially helpful papers... LINK.

[Mahnmut]

Just now, jdp said:

This looks a lot like the Lode Member material. Texture doesn't look quite right for a placoderm, though I guess it could be Bothriolepis of some sort. The foramina in between ridges makes me think this might be the tristychopterid from that formation, Eusthenopteron kurshi. But that's just a gut feeling, don't quote me on it.

Thanks, I will read up on this!

Would this be a skull part if it was Eusthenopteron?

[Misha]

I've seen seller with material from the Lode Quarry, selling this type of material as "Asterolepis ornata"

[Mahnmut]

Thanks for your answers!

I was just starting to think towards Asterolepis, after finding the name here https://fr.pensoft.net/article/30229/https://fr.pensoft.net/article/30229/

and trying to look up the 3d shape here:

https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/asterolepsis-ornata-gross-ddde37f4f8ed4065b62466a258bd3d94

https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/bothriolepis-5af52443cf8c4ecaaec65f6f8b1ad51e

 

It was the ornamentation though and not the shaepe that couht my eye.

I have no idea how diagnostic the ornamentation is, but in these two references the ornamentation of Bothriolepis seems more regular (the Asterolepis reference seems to be a 3d scan of painted cast though), so the rather irregular ornamentation of my specimen would fit that.

 

Under the working hypothesis that this is indeed a part of an animal the general shape of an antiarch placoderm, can I get an idea where on the body it used to sit?

There is one feature I did not catch well in the pics, a sharp edge (marked in red here:

Will take another foto tomorrow in dailight.)

Best regards,

J