Eestilepis

Eestilepis Temporal range: Sheinwoodian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
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, though some sources lump it into the family Shieliidae. ^[1] The species is known from the Cape Phillips Formation of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, and dates back to the Sheinwoodian age of the Silurian. ^[2]

Etymology

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. ^[2]

Material

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. ^[2]

The scales of Eestilepis are robust and abrasion-resistant, similar to modern sharks which live among rough substrates such as rocky caves or reefs. ^{[3] [1]}

References

1. Ferrón, Humberto G; Martínez-Pérez, Carlos; Turner, Susan; Manzanares, Esther; Botella, Héctor (2018). "Patterns of ecological diversification in thelodonts" (PDF). Palaeontology. 61 (2): 303–315. doi:10.1111/pala.12347. hdl: 10550/85568 .
2. Märss, Tiiu; Wilson, Mark V. H.; Thorsteinsson, Raymond (2002). "New thelodont (Agnatha) and possible chondrichthyan (Gnathostomata) taxa established in the Silurian and Lower Devonian of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago" (PDF). Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, Geology. 51 (2).
3. Ferrón, Humberto G.; Botella, Héctor (2017). "Squamation and ecology of thelodonts". PLOS ONE. 12 (2) e0172781. Bibcode:2017PLoSO..1272781F. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0172781 . PMC   5328365 . PMID   28241029.