Harpagofututor
Encyclopedia
Harpagofututor is an extinct genus
of cartilaginous fish from the Mississippian of North America
.
It was an eel
-shaped fish with almost no scales
. About eight inches long, it swam with some help from its fins
, but also relied on whole-body locomotion to move. The fish also had teeth sufficient for eating shellfish
.
Harpagofututor is thought to be related to the cochliodonts, chimaeroids, and Chondrenchelys problematica.
The fish was discovered in the 1980s in Montana's Bear Gulch
area by Adelphi University
palaeontologist Richard Lund, who has been exploring the limestone formations of the region since 1969.
The area was thought to be the location of a shallow bay. Fish remains are found throughout the area. Further examinations of the soft tissue pigments of these fossilized remains led to more information about the fish and information about its internal organs, including its reproductive system.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of cartilaginous fish from the Mississippian of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
It was an eel
Eel
Eels are an order of fish, which consists of four suborders, 20 families, 111 genera and approximately 800 species. Most eels are predators...
-shaped fish with almost no scales
Scale (zoology)
In most biological nomenclature, a scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of an animal's skin to provide protection. In lepidopteran species, scales are plates on the surface of the insect wing, and provide coloration...
. About eight inches long, it swam with some help from its fins
FINS
FINS is a network protocol used by Omron PLCs, over different physical networks like Ethernet, Controller Link, DeviceNet and RS-232C....
, but also relied on whole-body locomotion to move. The fish also had teeth sufficient for eating shellfish
Shellfish
Shellfish is a culinary and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater environments, some kinds are found only in freshwater...
.
Harpagofututor is thought to be related to the cochliodonts, chimaeroids, and Chondrenchelys problematica.
The fish was discovered in the 1980s in Montana's Bear Gulch
Bear Gulch Limestone
The Bear Gulch Limestone in Montana is a fossiliferous lagerstätte, a limestone layer laid down in the Mississippian epoch of the Carboniferous period, about 318 mya. This lens of limestone was laid down in a surrounding matrix that indicates a landscape of mudflats and braided channels in fresh...
area by Adelphi University
Adelphi University
Adelphi University is a private, nonsectarian university located in Garden City, in Nassau County, New York, United States. It is the oldest institution of higher education on Long Island. For the sixth year, Adelphi University has been named a “Best Buy” in higher education by the Fiske Guide to...
palaeontologist Richard Lund, who has been exploring the limestone formations of the region since 1969.
The area was thought to be the location of a shallow bay. Fish remains are found throughout the area. Further examinations of the soft tissue pigments of these fossilized remains led to more information about the fish and information about its internal organs, including its reproductive system.
Sources
- http://www.sju.edu/research/bear_gulch/pages_fish_species/Harpagofututor_volsellorhinus.php
- Aquagenesis: The Origin and Evolution of Life in the Sea by Richard Ellis
- The Rise of Fishes: 500 Million Years of Evolution by John A. Long