Eestilepis Temporal range: | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
Infraphylum: | Agnatha |
Class: | † Thelodonti |
Order: | † Thelodontiformes |
Family: | † Eestilepididae Märss, Wilson and Thorsteinsson, 2002 |
Genus: | † Eestilepis Märss, Wilson and Thorsteinsson, 2002 |
Species: | †E. prominens |
Binomial name | |
†Eestilepis prominens Märss, Wilson and Thorsteinsson, 2002 | |
Eestilepis prominens is a species of thelodont, a clade of ancient jawless fish. It is the only species in the genus Eestilepis and the family Eestilepididae. The species is known from the Cape Phillips Formation of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, and dates back to the Sheinwoodian age of the Silurian. [1]
Eestilepis is named after Eesti, the endonym of Estonia, from which originates co-discoverer Tiiu Märss, and Ancient Greek λεπίς (lepis) meaning "scale". The specific epithet prominens comes from Latin meaning "to stand out", after the height of the median area of the scale crowns. [1]
The holotype, GSC 117198, preserves the anterior half of the specimen as well as a collection of scales. The preserved fragment is 12.4 centimetres (4.9 in) long and 8.2 centimetres (3.2 in) wide. [1]