Janassa

Janassa; Temporal range: Lower Carboniferous to Lopingian
	Life restoration of Janassa bituminosa
	Fossil displayed at the National Museum of Nature and Science
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Chondrichthyes
Subclass:	Holocephali
Order:	† Petalodontiformes
Family:	† Janassidae
Genus:	† Janassa ; Schlotheim, 1820
Species
	J. bituminosa (Schlotheim, 1820) (type species); J. clavata M'Coy, 1855; J. kochi Nielsen, 1932; J. clarki Lund, 1989; J. unguicula (Eastman, 1903);

Last updated August 17, 2025

Janassa is an extinct genus of petalodont cartilaginous fish that lived in marine environments in what is now central United States of America and Europe during the Carboniferous and upper Permian.^[1]

It is known from teeth and a few poorly preserved body fossils from Germany (Kupferschiefer, Upper Permian) and England (Marl Slate, Upper Permian).

Janassa had a body plan very similar to that of the modern skate. Its teeth suggest it crushed and ate shellfish, such as brachiopods.

References

↑ Schaumberg, Günther (1977). "Die Richelsdorfer Kupferschiefer und seiner Fossilien, III". Aufschluss. 28: 297–352.

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[1] Schaumberg, Günther (1977). "Die Richelsdorfer Kupferschiefer und seiner Fossilien, III". Aufschluss. 28: 297–352.

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