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22 June 2018 Eusthenopteron jenkinsi sp. nov. (Sarcopterygii, Tristichopteridae) from the Upper Devonian of Nunavut, Canada, and a Review of Eusthenopteron Taxonomy
Jason P. Downs,, Edward B. Daeschler,, Alison M. Long, Neil H. Shubin
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Abstract

New material from the Upper Devonian (Frasnian) Fram Formation of Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, represents a new large-bodied species of Eusthenopteron. The complete and well-preserved nature of the fossil material enables a description of anatomy that is otherwise poorly represented in most Eusthenopteron species; this includes braincase (ethmosphenoid and otic-occipital), scapulocoracoid, and pectoral fin. The new species is distinguished from other Eusthenopteron species by its large body size, pitted rather than tuberculated dermal cranial ornament, a distinct caudolateral margin of the vomer, an unossified basicranium, and a horizontally oriented hyomandibula. A large sample size and decades of detailed study of Eusthenopteron foordi have resulted in an important anatomical understanding of that species, but a lack of autapomorphies has complicated efforts to diagnose the grouping Eusthenopteron. We review the taxonomic history of Eusthenopteron and provide a new diagnosis that relies on a combination of discrete features that are commonly preserved and unaffected by specimen quality.

© The President and Fellows of Harvard College 2018.
Jason P. Downs,, Edward B. Daeschler,, Alison M. Long, and Neil H. Shubin "Eusthenopteron jenkinsi sp. nov. (Sarcopterygii, Tristichopteridae) from the Upper Devonian of Nunavut, Canada, and a Review of Eusthenopteron Taxonomy," Breviora 562(1), 1-24, (22 June 2018). https://doi.org/10.3099/MCZ44.1
Published: 22 June 2018
KEYWORDS
Fram Formation
Frasnian
Late Devonian
Sarcopterygii
Tristichopteridae
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