Venustodus Temporal range: Carboniferous, | |
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Tooth of V. argutus from the collection of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History | |
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Genus: | Venustodus St. John & Worthen, 1875 |
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Venustodus is an extinct genus of cartilaginous fish from the Carboniferous of Russia and the United States. It has been assigned either to the family Cochliodontidae or an indeterminate position within the subclass Holocephali, [1] [2] although in 1984 researcher Rainer Zangerl insisted that nothing is known of the genus' classification and that it may be unrelated to holocephalans. [3] All species of Venustodus are believed to have been nektonic, marine carnivores. [1]
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George Sprague Myers was an American ichthyologist who spent most of his career at Stanford University. He served as the editor of Stanford Ichthyological Bulletin as well as president of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. Myers was also head of the Division of Fishes at the United States National Museum, and held a position as an ichthyologist for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. He was also an advisor in fisheries and ichthyology to the Brazilian Government.
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Ornithoprion is a genus of extinct cartilaginous fish in the family Caseodontidae. The only species, O. hertwigi, lived during the Moscovian stage of the Pennsylvanian, between 315.2 to 307 million years ago, and is known from black shale deposits in what is now the Midwestern United States. The discovery and description of Ornithoprion, performed primarily via radiography, helped clarify the skull anatomy of eugeneodonts; a group which includes O. hertwigi and which were previously known primarily from isolated teeth. The genus derives its name from its pointed, bill-like armored skull and large eyes, which vaguely resemble the features of a bird, while the species name honors Oscar Hertwig. It is known from multiple specimens preserving the skull and frontmost portion of the body.
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