Watsonosteus Temporal range:
Middle Devonian: Late
Givetian,
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Watsonosteus fossil specimen | |
Scientific classification
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Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | † Placodermi |
Order: | † Arthrodira |
Suborder: | † Brachythoraci |
Family: | † Coccosteidae |
Genus: | †
Watsonosteus Miles & Westoll, 1963 |
Species | |
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Synonyms | |
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Watsonosteus is an extinct genus of coccosteid arthrodire placoderm from the Late Givetian stage of the Middle Devonian period. Fossils are found in the Orkney Islands, Scotland. It was a small placoderm with a total body length of 57 cm (22 in), [1] with the largest individuals reaching lengths of 1 m (39 in). [2] It is one of the few arthrodires for which complete body fossils are known.
Watsonosteus is a member of the family Coccosteidae, which belongs to the clade Coccosteomorphi, one of the two major clades within Eubrachythoraci. The cladogram below shows the phylogeny of Watsonosteus: [3]