Coccosteus

Coccosteus
Temporal range: Middle to Late Devonian, 393.3–359.3 Ma
C. cuspidatus specimen IVPP V19322, Paleozoological Museum of China
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: †Placodermi
Order: †Arthrodira
Suborder: †Brachythoraci
Family: †Coccosteidae
Genus: †Coccosteus
Agassiz, 1843
Type species
Coccosteus cuspidatus
Miller, 1841
Species
List
    • Coccosteus canadensis Woodward, 1892
    • Coccosteus carbonarius M'Coy, 1848
    • Coccosteus chamberlini Bryant, 1932
    • Coccosteus cuspidatus Miller, 1841 (type)
    • Coccosteus cuyahogae Claypole, 1998
    • Coccosteus decipiens Agassiz, 1841
    • Coccosteus disjectus Woodward, 1891
    • Coccosteus grossi Obrucheva, 1962
    • Coccosteus hercynius von Meyer, 1852
    • Coccosteus macromus Cope, 1892
    • Coccosteus markae Obrucheva, 1962
    • Coccosteus minor Miller, 1858
    • Coccosteus occidentalis Newberry, 1875
    • ? Coccosteus orvikui Gross, 1940
    • Coccosteus terranovae Obruchev, 1934

Coccosteus (from Greek: κόκκος kókkos, 'berry' and Greek: ὀστέον ostéon 'bone')[1] is an extinct genus of arthrodire placoderm from the Devonian period. Its fossils have been found throughout Europe and North America. The majority of these have been found in freshwater sediments, though such a large range suggests that they may have been able to enter saltwater. It was a small placoderm, with Coccosteus cuspidatus measuring 29.6–39.4 cm (11.7–15.5 in) long.[2]

  1. ^ Dean, Bashford (1895). Fishes, living and fossil. An outline of their forms and probable relationships. New York, London, Macmillan and Co. p. 228.
  2. ^ Engelman, Russell K. (2023). "A Devonian Fish Tale: A New Method of Body Length Estimation Suggests Much Smaller Sizes for Dunkleosteus terrelli (Placodermi: Arthrodira)". Diversity. 15 (3). 318. doi:10.3390/d15030318.