Wuttagoonaspis

Wuttagoonaspis Temporal range: Middle Devonian, 393–382 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Wuttagoonaspis fletcheri
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	†Placodermi
Order:	†Arthrodira
Family:	†Wuttagoonaspidae
Genus:	†Wuttagoonaspis Ritchie, 1973
Species
†Wuttagoonaspis fletcheri Ritchie, 1973 (type) †Wuttagoonaspis milligani Young & Goujet, 2003

Wuttagoonaspis fletcheri head shield, cast of a specimen from Tambua, New South Wales, Australia.

Wuttagoonaspis is an extinct genus of primitive arthrodire placoderm fish from the Middle Devonian of Australia. The box-like skull is up to 18 centimeters in length, and the median dorsal plate averages in length about 10 centimeters. It contains two species: the type species Wuttagoonaspis fletcheri, described by Ritchie in 1973, and Wuttagoonaspis milligani, described by Young and Goujet in 2003.[1]

Classification

Wuttagoonaspis belongs to the family Wuttagoonaspidae, and is closely related to Yiminaspis. It is one of the more basal members of the order Arthrodira, as shown in the cladogram below:[2]

Eurycaraspis incilis Lunaspis broilii Arthrodira Yujiangolepis liujingensis Antarctaspis mcmurdoensis Wuttagoonaspidae Wuttagoonaspis fletcheri Yiminaspis shenme Aethaspis major Aethaspis utahensis Lehmanosteus hyperboreus Aleosteus eganensis Simblaspis cachensis Kujdanowiaspis buczacziensis Kujdanowiaspis podolica Erikaspis zychi Sigaspis lepidophora Eskimaspis heintzi Baringaspis dineleyi Proaethaspis ohioensis Anarthraspis chamberlini Heightingtonaspis anglica Phyllolepida Gavinaspis convergens Austrophyllolepis sp. Cowralepis mclachlani Phyllolepis orvini Placolepis budawangensis Actinolepidae Bollandaspis woschmidti Actinolepis spinosa Actinolepis magna Actinolepis tuberculata Bryantolepis brachycephalus Phlyctaenioidei Phlyctaeniidae Groenlandaspidae Arctaspidae Dicksonosteus arcticus Arctolepidae Brachythoraci

Actinolepidoidei Phlyctaeniina

References

1. Dupret, Vincent (Mar 12, 2008). "A New Wuttagoonaspid (Placodermi, Arthrodira) from the Lower Devonian of Yunnan (South China): Origin, Dispersal, and Paleobiogeographic Significance". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 28: 12–20. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2008)28[12:anwpaf]2.0.co;2.
2. Dupret, V.; Zhu, M. I. N.; Wang, J. N. Q. (2009). "The morphology of Yujiangolepis liujingensis (Placodermi, Arthrodira) from the Pragian of Guangxi (south China) and its phylogenetic significance" (PDF). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 157: 70. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2009.00519.x.