Debeerius

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Debeerius
Temporal range: Mississippian
Debeerius ellefsen, with coloration based on preserved color patterns.png
Restoration of Debeerius effelseni, based on preserved color patterns
Debeerius effelseni ROM.jpg
D. ellefseni fossil with preserved color patterns
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Holocephali
Order: Debeeriiformes
Family: Debeeriidae
Genus: Debeerius
Grogan & Lund, 2000
Species:
D. ellefseni
Binomial name
Debeerius ellefseni
Grogan & Lund, 2000
Specimen of D. ellefseni preserved as a part and counterpart Debeerius ellefseni.jpg
Specimen of D. ellefseni preserved as a part and counterpart

Debeerius is a genus of chondrichthyan from the Mississippian age Bear Gulch Limestone of Montana, United States. It is named after Gavin de Beer. One species, D. ellefseni, is known, which is preserved in very fine detail. Melanin preserved in fossils of D. ellefseni indicates it possessed dark stripes down the length of its body. The jaw suspension of Debeerius was autodiastylic (two jointed), and it is considered a member of the subclass Holocephali. [1]

References

  1. Eileen D. Grogan & Richard Lund (2000). "Debeerius ellefseni (fam. nov., gen. nov., spec. nov.), an autodiastylic chondrichthyan from the Mississippian Bear Gulch Limestone of Montana (USA), the relationships of the chondrichthyes, and comments on gnathostome evolution". Journal of Morphology . 243 (3): 219–245. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-4687(200003)243:3<219::AID-JMOR1>3.0.CO;2-1. PMID   10681469.