A tristichopterid sarcopterygian fish from the upper Middle Devonian of Nevada

Abstract

A new tristichopterid, †Bruehnopteron murphyi n. gen. n. sp., is described from the uppermost Givetian, Middle Devonian, from the Northern Simpson Park Range in central Nevada, USA. A complete morphological description is provided. The new tristichopterid is placed between †Jarvikina and †Heddleichthys in recently published phylogenetic diagrams of tristichopterid sarcopterygians. Shape of lacrimal and jugal and the longest preorbital region of all tristichopterids are unique features of the new form. The new tristichopterid has enlarged premaxillary ‘pseudofangs’ and anterior dentary fangs, features of ‘moderately derived’ tristichopterids.

Keywords:

• sarcopterygian fish
• marine
• Middle Devonian
• Nevada, USA

Acknowledgements

The basis of this paper was part of Reed's doctoral thesis at the University of California, Berkeley. The excavations in 1974 and 1975 were supported by the University of California, Berkeley. Reed was the guest at the Svenska Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet, Stockholm, in 1977–1978. The stay was financed by the American Scandinavian Foundation and the University of California. The excavations in 1981 and 1983 were supported by the Division of Vertebrate Paleontology, Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas; the excavation of 1987 was supported by National Geographic grant 3516-87 to Schultze. The senior author is thankful to O. Bonner, former preparator at the Division of Vertebrate Paleontology, the former graduate students Dr J. Chorn, Dr M. Gottfried and Dr J. McAllister and the German helping hands, P. Brühn and E. Thomas, for their hard work in the field. Dr M. Murphy gave us the opportunity to use the field facilities of the geological field camp of University of California, Riverside in the Roberts Mountains. The authors also thank L. Berner (Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, Germany) for his careful preparation of specimen KUVP 94040. The senior author thanks Pat Holroyd (UCMP) and Brian Swartz for help in the vertebrate paleontology collection during the visit in 2007. Figures were drawn by J.W. Reed (Figures 4-8) and Mr J.-P. Mendau, Berlin (Figures 2, 9, 10). F. Charest (MHNM) kindly supplied pictures of the snout of †E. foordi specimens in the collection of the Miguasha museum (MHNM 06-505, 06-1494, 06-2065). The authors also thank P. Ahlberg and G. Young for their helpful comments and the correction of the English.

Notes

1. Email: [email protected]

Additional information

Notes on contributors

John W. Reed

1