Myledaphus

Myledaphus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous 94.3–66.043 Ma
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Order: Rajiformes
Family: Rhinobatidae
Genus: Myledaphus
Species: M. bipartitus
Binomial name
Myledaphus bipartitus
(Cope, 1876)

Myledaphus is a genus of Late Cretaceous cartilaginous fish whose fossils are known from Canada, the Midwest of the United States, and Uzbekistan.[1] It was a freshwater guitarfish that probably reached a length of 3 feet long, and had teeth adapted for a durophagous diet of animals such as clams.[2]

Fossils and age

The most common remains of this fish are teeth and vertebra. A study performed on Myledaphus vertebra from Alberta in 2013 revealed that Myledaphus had an estimated maximum age of 16 years. This means that Myledaphus had a shorter lifespan than that of the modern common guitarfish, by a difference of 8 years.[3]

See also

Footnotes

  1. "Fossilworks: Myledaphus". fossilworks.org. Retrieved 2016-06-03.
  2. "Myledaphus bipartitus" (PDF). North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources.
  3. Wilson, Alycia E.; Newbrey, Michael G.; Brinkman, Donald B.; Cook, Todd D.; Neuman, Andrew G. (2013-06-10). "Age and growth in Myledaphus bipartitus, a Late Cretaceous freshwater guitarfish from Alberta, Canada". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 50 (9): 930–944. doi:10.1139/cjes-2013-0001. ISSN 0008-4077.

References

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