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Peabody Museum 

of Natural History 

Yale University 

New Haven, CT 06511 


Postilla Number 180 
30 November 1980 


See 


Devonian Vertebrates 
from Australia 


Emily B. Giffin 


(Received 3 September 1979) 
Abstract 


A vertebrate microfauna from the Lower De- 
vonian (Emsian) of Australia is described. It is 
& taxonomically diverse assemblage, includ- 
ING disarticulated dermal skeletal fragments 
and/or teeth of Thelodonti, Placodermi, 
Cladodontida, Acanthodii, Onychodontidae, 
Rhipidistia, and Paleoniscida. Elements of 
this fauna have been described previously 
from geographically diverse localities of ap- 
Proximately equivalent age, but this Aus- 
tralian fauna is unique in possessing all of the 
above taxonomic groups in a single as- 
SeMblage. This occurrence reinforces previ- 
US Suggestions that the Lower Devonian fish 
fauna was widespread and uniform. 


Introduction 


The vertebrate material discussed below was 
Collected by B. D. E. Chatterton from a series 
Of micrites, biomicrites, and biosparites in the 
lower 200 feet of the Receptaculites Lime- 
Stone. The Receptaculites unit is one of a 
Sequence of limestones of the Taemas For- 
Mation (Murrumbidgee Group) that occurs 
Near the locality site (Fig. 1) designated as 
Locality P, Bloomfield Property, Portion 229, 


“ Copyright 1980 by the Peabody Museum of 

atural History, Yale University. All rights re- 
Served. No part of this publication, except 
brief Quotations for scholarly purposes, may 
be produced without the written permission 
of the Director, Peabody Museum of Natural! 
\story. 


Parish of Warroo, near Yass, New South 
Wales, Australia (personal communication, 
B. D. E. Chatterton to K. S. Thomson, 1968). 
The age of the Murrumbidgee Group has 
been assigned on the basis of its invertebrate 
and conodont faunas (Philip and Pedder, 
1964, 1967; Pedder, 1967; Savage, 1973) as 
near the Siegenian/Emsian boundary. Chat- 
terton (personal communication, 1978) now 
places the Receptaculites unit itself in the 
middle Emsian on the basis of conodont 
occurrences. 

The general area surrounding the collec- 
tion site described here has yielded a large 
number of vertebrate remains over a consid- 
erable period of years. Etheridge (1906) de- 
scribed the dipnoan Ganorhynchus (later as- 
signed to Dipnorhynchus by Jaeckel, 1927) 
from this locality, and a series of placoderms 
were described by Woodward (1941) and 
White (1952). More recently Schultze (1968) 
described a microvertebrate fauna that in- 
cluded some, but not all, of the forms de- 
scribed here. Schultze’s fauna was also col- 
lected from the Taemas Formation, but the 
majority of it was from the Spirifer yassensis 
limestone, a lithic unit some 800-1200 feet 
beneath the base of the Receptaculites 
Limestone (Chatterton, 1971). Schultze de- 
scribed scales of the new paleoniscoid 
Ligulalepis toombsi from his fauna, and men- 
tioned the occurrence of fragmentary re- 
mains of Ohiolepis, Ohioaspis, and Ony- 
chodus with them. 

In addition to the vertebrate material, 
the Receptaculites Limestone contains a 
diverse invertebrate fauna composed of 
brachiopods, gastropods, tabulate and 
rugose corals, trilobites, ostracods, and con- 
odonts. The diversity of this assemblage and 


Devonian Vertebrates 
from Australia 


Postilla 180 


Queensland 


New South Wales 


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Victoria Ace 


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Receptaculites Limestone 
Bloomfield Limestone 
= Currajong Limestone 
Spirifer yassensis Limestone 
f=] Majurgong Formation 

ea Cavan Bluff Limestone 
Mountain Creek Tuffs 
Narrangullen Rhyolite fe) 


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Coarse tuffs ; 


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Collection site of vertebrate fauna, near Yass, New 
South Wales, Australia. Map prepared by Brian 
D. E. Chatterton. 


the presence of calcareous algae suggest 
that the environment of deposition was a 
warm shallow sea of low-to-moderate energy. 
The regime was apparently strictly marine. 


r Site of collection 
—<— Fault Geology partly from Browne 1959 sy 
Fig. 1 


Description of Specimens 


The recovery of vertebrate material from the 
matrix was a byproduct of its preparation for 
conodonts. This was accomplished by diges- 
tion of the rock in 10% monochloracetic acid, 
sieving, and heavy mineral separation. The 
resulting vertebrate fossils are extremely 
fragile and lack all microstructure, although 
fine surface detail is retained. Unfortunately, 
damage occurred to some of this very fragile 
material during the processes required for 
SEM photography. 


The vertebrate fauna, like the invertebrate 
fauna, is remarkable for its diversity. Al- 
though lack of microstructure makes even 
generic identification difficult, fish remains 
belonging to a number of the larger tax- 
onomic groups can be recognized. These 
include Thelodonti, Placodermi, Cladodon- 
tida, Acanthodii, Onychodontidae, Rhipidis- 
tia, and Paleoniscida, as well as various inde- 
terminate fish fragments. 

By far the greatest bulk of the residue con- 
sists of acanthodian scales and onychodon- 
tid teeth. All of the remaining taxa are rep- 
resented by only a few specimens. All of the 
material is now part of the Australian National 
University collections, numbers 35606 and 
35607. 


3 Devonian Vertebrates 
from Australia 


Postilla 180 


Fig. 2A, B 

Skamolepis fragilis, thelodont agnathan scales 
from the Receptaculites Limestone. Scale = 
0.1 mm. 


Thelodonti 


A very small number of scales presumed to 
be those of the thelodont agnathans were 
found in the Receptaculites Limestone res- 
idue. Although at first glance the two Speci- 
mens figured (Fig. 2A,B) appear to be quite 
different, they may be considered end forms 
Of the same morphological pattern. This pat- 
tern includes a wide open, central pulp cavity 
and a nearly flat basal plate. The neck is con- 
Stricted and short. The crown bears a series 
Of linear ornaments and shows suggestions 
Of tripartite structure. 


The central pulp cavities of these scales 
demand their placement in the Thelodonti. 
Despite lack of histological information, they 
can be placed in the species Skamolepis 
fragilis because of their remarkable external 
similarities to this species, which was re- 
cently described by Karatajute-Talimaa 
(1978). S. fragilis has been reported previ- 
ously only from the late Emsian of Latvia 
and from the Grey Hoek (?Eifelian) of 
Spitsbergen. 

Thelodonts have been reported previously 
in assemblages similar in age to that found in 
the Receptaculites Limestone. Orvig (1957, 


4 Devonian Vertebrates 
from Australia 


Postilla 180 


Fig. 3 
Ohioaspis tumulosa, placoderm tessera from the 
Receptaculites Limestone. Scale = 0.1 mm. 


1969a, 1969b) described the thelodont Amal- 
theolepis winsnesi from the Grey Hoek of 
Spitsbergen, part of a fauna that also in- 
cludes fragments of a petalichthyid, 
Arctolepis, a struniiform, and acanthodians. 
Orvig particularly noted (1969b) that this 
fauna is unlike the characteristic Emsian/ 
Eifelian fauna that contains ptyctoconts, 
Ohioaspis, Ohiolepis, and undetermined 
Struniiformes from a variety of localities. 
Schultze (1968) noted the presence of 
“horn-like thelodontid scales” from this same 
unit in association with the paleoniscoid Or- 
vikuina and Porolepis-like scales. 


Placodermi 


The placoderm material of the Receptacu- 
lites Limestone consists of dermal tesserae of 
varying size and generally polygonal shape 
(Fig. 3). A base and sculptured crown sur- 
face can be differentiated, but there is no 
discrete neck. The base is usually flat or 
slightly convex, and is often penetrated by 
several vascular canals. The sculpture con- 


sists of star-shaped tubercles which vary 
in micro-ornament, shape, and number. 
The tesserae range from 0.5 to 1.2 mm 
in greatest diameter. 

These tesserae closely resemble those 
placed in the genus Ohioaspis by Wells 
(1944) from the Middle Devonian bonebeds 
of Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. Although 
Wells recognized three species of Ohioaspis, 
one with four “forms,” Gross (1973) has 
grouped them all into the species O. tum- 
ulosa. Gross also suggested that Ohioaspis 
and the rhenanid placoderm genus Asteros- 
teus are identical, but retained the genus 
Ohioaspis until confirmation of the identity. 

In addition to Wells’ localities, specimens 
of Ohioaspis have been reported previously 
from the Murrumbidgee area of Australia by 
Schultze (1968) and from New York State 
(Onondaga) and Spitsbergen (Lower/Middle 
Devonian) by Orvig (1969b). 


Cladodontida 


Among the vertebrate remains of the Recep- 


5 Devonian Vertebrates Postilla 180 
from Australia 


Fig. 4A, B 

Ohiolepis sp., cladodont chondrichthyan scales 
from the Receptaculites Limestone. Scale = 

0.1 mm. 


6 Devonian Vertebrates 
from Australia 


Postilla 180 


Fig. 5 
Cheiracanthoides comptus, acanthodian scale 
from the Receptaculites Limestone. Scale = 

0.1 mm 


taculites Limestone, scales of the cladodont 
chondrichthyan genus Ohiolepis are readily 
identified by their crown sculpture (Fig. 4A, 
B). This ornamentation consists of numerous 
short, posteriorly directed thorn-shaped pro- 
jections. Although arrangement and size of 
the projections are variable, they are gener- 
ally symmetrical in distribution. This pattern 
and the low, flat profile of the crown are re- 
flections of the scale’s growth pattern. 
Cladodont scales grow by the addition of 
successive, overlapping, and marginal in- 
crements rather than by complete encircling 
layers as in acanthodians. The ontogenet- 
ically oldest part of the scale crown is central 
in position (Gross, 1973). 

The basal outline of the Ohiolepis scale is 
round to rhombic, and forms the largest part 
of the scale. On some specimens it bears 
one or more vascular canal openings. The 
base extends further anteriorly than the 
crown but is overlapped by crown ornament 


posteriorly. There is no discrete neck. 

Other reported occurrences of Ohiolepis 
include the Middle Devonian of Ohio, Indi- 
ana, and Kentucky (Wells, 1944), the Heis- 
dorf beds of Germany (Schmidt, 1961; Orvig, 
1969b), the Murrumbidgee Group of Aus- 
tralia (Schultze, 1968), and the Onodaga of 
New York State (Orvig, 1969b). 


Acanthodii 


Acanthodian scales are a large component 
of the vertebrate residue of the Receptacu- 
lites Limestone. All acanthodian scales 
present are variants of a single morphologi- 
cal pattern (Fig. 5). The scale base is spheri- 
cal, and like all acanthodian scales lacks a 
pulp cavity opening. It is typically broader 
than the scale crown, and extends further 
forward than the anterior end of the crown. 
The neck is low and bears the opening of the 
vascular system that supplied the crown. The 


7 Devonian Vertebrates 
from Australia 


Postilla 180 


Fig. 6 


Indet. acanthodian spine from the Receptaculites 


Limestone. Scale = 0.1 mm. 


Crown is nearly flat, rhombic in shape, and 
possesses a pointed posterior tip. The 
Characteristic crown sculpture consists of 
more or less radial ribs that are broadest at 
the anterior end of the crown. The ribs narrow 
and often disappear near the center of the 
Scale. Although microstructure is not pre- 
served in this material, this structural pattern 
iS Consistent with acanthodian scale genus 
Cheiracanthoides comptus. Cheiracan- 
thoides is known to possess a Nostolepis- 
type histology. Scales range from 0.3 to 0.8 
mm in length. 

Wells (1944) first described the genus 
Cheiracanthoides from the Middle Devonian 
bonebeds of Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. 
He recognized a total of two genera and six 
Species on the basis of slight differences in 
Crown sculpture and relative size of base and 
Crown. Gross (1973) grouped all of these var- 
lants into the single species C. comptus. He 
reported the genus from various localities 
near the Ostsee in Germany. 

A single specimen of an acanthodian spine 
was found in the fish residue (Fig 6). This 


short (0.8 mm) fragment is flattened and very 
slightly tapered. Its surface is smooth except 
for a series of four conical projections in a 
single row. These projections rise perpen- 
dicular to the spine shaft without curving. 

Acanthodian spine fragments were re- 
ported by Wells (1944) from the Middle De- 
vonian bonebeds noted above. He assigned 
them provisionally to the organ genus 
Gyracanthus because of their similarity to G. 
primaevus, described by Eastman (1908) 
from the Marcellus of New York State. 

The specimen described here differs from 
G. primaevus in the straightness of its conical 
projections, which are more typical of those 
of G. sherwood as illustrated by Newberry 
(1889). However, the specimen is much 
smaller than either of these species, and 
cannot be certainly assigned to either. 


Onychodontidae 


The onychodont material present in the Re- 
ceptaculites residue consists of both dermal 


8 Devonian Vertebrates 
from Australia 


Postilla 180 


Fig. 7 
Dermal ornament, possibly of Onychodus sig- 
moides, from the Receptaculites Limestone. 

Scale = 1.0mm. 


ornament and teeth. The fragments of 
dermal ornament are small and rare, but 
the teeth form the most common element in 
the residue. 

The dermal ornament (Fig. 7) is recognized 
by its peculiar pattern of raised, horseshoe- 
shaped tubercles, which occur in neatly or- 
dered rows. The tubercles are about 0.2 mm 
in diameter, and the dermal fragments range 
up to 1.5mm in greatest dimension. They are 
most probably the ‘first generation” tuber- 
cles on the dorsal surface of early crossop- 
terygian scales. In these forms, radiating 
rows Of first generation tubercles ornament 
an area between the unornamented and 
overlapped anterior portion and the ridged 
and exposed posterior portion of the scales. 
In detail they most closely resemble those 
described as Onychodus sigmoides by 
Newberry (1873), Wells (1944), and Orvig 
(1957). However they are similar in general 
form to those identified as Litoptychus (Deni- 
son, 1951) and Glyptolepis (Gross, 1930; 
Orvig 1957). The small amount of the material 


and the variability of dermal ornament within 
all of these genera makes definitive identifi- 
cation difficult. 

The teeth (Fig. 8) are narrow, pointed, and 
hollow, without any identifiable ornamenta- 
tion. The shaft tapers and is distinctly curved. 
The base is typically constricted, and bears a 
flange. They average about 1.1 mm in length. 

Wells (1944) identified very similar teeth as 
Onychodus interlaniaries. However, Gross 
(1969) described teeth of almost identical 
morphology among Lophosteus material 
from the Beyrichia Limestone of northern 
Germany. His study included a histological 
examination of these teeth and comparable 
material of known actinopterygian and cros- 
sopterygian origin. It revealed no histological 
characteristics suitable for distinguishing be- 
tween isolated teeth of these groups. This 
tooth type is possessed by the earliest known 
representatives of the Osteichthyes, An- 
dreolepis and Lophosteus, and is presuma- 
bly primitive to the group as a whole. 

The teeth found in the Receptaculites 


9 Devonian Vertebrates 
from Australia 


Postilla 180 


Fig. 8 
?Onychodus sp. teeth from the Receptaculites 
Limestone. Scale = 1.0 mm. 


fauna are tentatively identified as Onychodus 
because other Onychodus remains are pre- 
Sumed present in the residue. However, no 
Structural characteristic was found that would 
Prohibit their assignment to Lophosteiformes 
Or to several other Devonian taxa. 


Rhipidistia 


The Receptaculites fauna contains a single 
isolated cosmoid scale (Fig. 9) and various 
Ccosmine-covered dermal fragments. The 
Scale is distinguished by a continuous 
enamel (cosmine) layer that covers the crown 
and a series of pores that puncture this layer. 
The enamel surface of the crown is slightly 
grooved near the pores, but is otherwise 
completely smooth. The crown is irregularly 
polygonal in outline and nearly flat, with its 
Margins turned slightly downward. There is 
no evidence of a crown area that was over- 
lapped by neighboring scales, nor of the 


groove that commonly separates overlapped 
and exposed areas. 

The neck of the scale is essentially indis- 
tinguishable from the high, straight-walled 
base. Pores can be seen to open on its sur- 
face. On the inner surface of the base two 
ridges parallel the long axis of the scale, with 
a broad groove between them. There is a dis- 
tinct peg and socket for articulation with 
neighboring scales. 

The complete cosmine covering of this 
scale suggests that it be classified as 
rhipidistian. Further, the thick base and polyg- 
onal shape are reminiscent of scales of 
early members of this group, either Osteo- 
lepidae or Porolepidae. With some excep- 
tions (Jarvik, 1950), these two groups may be 
distinguished by the absence (osteolepid) 
or presence (porolepid) of scale ornament 
(Jarvik, 1950; Orvig, 1951). 

Despite similarities to osteolepid and 
porolepid scales, the Receptaculites cos- 


Devonian Vertebrates 
from Australia 


Postilla 180 


Fig. 9 
Cosmine scale from the Receptaculites Limestone. 
Scale = 0.1 mm. 


moid scale differs from previously described 
specimens in two major respects. The first is 
size. Jarvik (1948) lists osteolepid scales in 
the 2 x 4mm to 4 x 6mm range, and 
porolepid scales are of generally equivalent 
size or even larger (Bystrow, 1960). The 
Australian specimen is much smaller, about 
0.9mm in length. Secondly, the scale has no 
overlap area. Previous reports of cosmoid 
scales with no overlap area are unknown 

to me. 

These two characters preclude assign- 
ment of this isolated scale to previously es- 
tablished genera. It is most similar to rhipidis- 
tian scales, and possesses the primitive 
rhipidistian characters of thickness, rhombic 
shape, and complete cosmine layer. These 
are characters shared by early members of 
both osteolepid and porolepid rhipidistians. 

Osteolepid remains are unknown beneath 
the Middle Devonian. Porolepid scales are 
rare in the Lower Devonian. Kulezycki (1960) 
reports them from the Polish Lower Devonian, 
while Jarvik (1950), Orvig (1957) and 
Schultze (1968) all report them from the Grey 
Hoek of Spitsbergen, which is near the 
Lower/Middle Devonian boundary. 


Paleoniscida 


Only a few scales of known paleoniscoid ori- 
gin were preserved whole in the Receptacu- 
lites Limestone residue. They are of two gen- 
eral types, one of which can be identified as 
Ligulalepis toombsi (Fig. 10). This genus was 
originally described by Schultze (1968) from 
the Taemas Formation of the Murrumbidgee 
area, with the majority of the material from the 
Spirifer yassensis limestone. Schultze lists 
one whole scale and several fragments from 
the overlying Receptaculites Limestone. L. 
toombsi is not known from other sites. 

The scales of Ligulalepis toombsi are flat, 
with a rhombic outline. Their length is greatly 
exceeded by their height. The sculptured 
crown consists of variously joined, obliquely 
running, ganoin-covered riblets. A very 
marked, spoon-shaped process is set off 
from the anterior edge at a sharp angle. The 
inner side of the scale possesses two parallel 
keels, between which is a broad groove. The 
peg and socket are both strongly expressed. 

The second group of paleoniscoid scales 
is very different. These scales (Fig. 11) are 
typically rhombic, but with very elongate 


lal Devonian Vertebrates 
from Australia 


Postilla 180 


Fig. 10 


Ligulalepis toombsi, a paleoniscoid scale from the 


Receptaculites Limestone. Scale = 1.0mm. 


Shape. The height of these scales is 3 to 6 
times that of their rostral-caudal dimension 
(=length). The scales have a peg and socket 
imbrication system that seems to involve not 
Only the base, as is usual in paleoniscoids, 
but the crown as well. This results in an out- 
line that resembles an elongate, skewed 
parallelogram. 

The crown of these scales is set off from 
the base by a groove, but there is no discrete 
neck. The enamel layer covering the crown is 
discontinuous, consisting of elongate ribs 
that run parallel to the long dimension of the 
Scale. The edges of the ribs are themselves 
Sculptured with a fluted ornamentation. The 
grooves between the enamel ribs are pierced 
by numerous openings, presumably of the 
pore canal system. 

The base of the scale is very distinctive, 
possessing two equal keels, one running 
along each of the two elongate scale edges. 
The double keel is reminiscent of that found 
on Ligulalepis scales (Schultze, 1968) but dif- 
fers in encompassing the entire scale base 
rather than only the medial portion of the 


base. A deep, perforated groove runs be- 
tween the two keels. 

The morphology of these scales is distinct 
and differs from that of paleoniscoid scales 
previously described from the Lower Devo- 
nian (Schultze, 1968) and Middle Devonian 
(Schultze, 1968; Gross, 1953). Their early 
occurrence makes them especially interest- 
ing, but paucity of material prevents their 
formal description. 


Distribution and Paleogeography 


As early as the Late Silurian it is possible to 
distinguish ecological preferences among 
various groups of vertebrates. Denison 
(1956) has identified two Late Silurian as- 
semblages. Osteostraci and Anaspida 
(with eurypterids) comprise a brackish-to- 
freshwater group, while Heterostraci 
Thelodonti, and Acanthodii comprise a 
marine group. The Receptaculites Limes- 
tone, both in lithology and invertebrate fauna, 
strongly indicates a marine origin. Its verte- 
brate microfauna is both younger and more 


12 Devonian Vertebrates 
from Australia 


Postilla 180 


Fig. 11 
Unnamed paleoniscoid scales from the Recep- 
taculites Limestone. Scale = 1.0mm. 


diverse than those discussed by Denison, 
but resembles the marine assemblage in the 
presence of Acanthodii and Thelodonti. 

The early vertebrate record in Australia is 
sparse. There is no pre-Devonian record. 
Hills (1958) listed a limited fauna from Aus- 
tralia’s Lower Devonian (originally consi- 
dered to be Middle Devonian), much of 
which was collected at localities near the 
material described here. It included several 
arthrodires, petalichthyids, and the dipnoan 
Dipnorhynchus. This genus is also known 
from the Lower Devonian of Germany 
(Lehmann and Westoll, 1952). 

Since Hills’ work, several new discoveries 
have added to the fauna known from the 
Lower Devonian of Australia. In 1968 
Schultze reported a microvertebrate fauna 
containing elements very similar to those 
reported here. It included Onychodus, 
Ohiolepis, and Ohioaspis in addition to the 
new paleoniscoid Ligulalepis, which was de- 
scribed in detail. Gross (1971) described the 
thelodont Turinia australiensis and undeter- 


mined acanthodians from the Lower Devo- 
nian of western Australia. Turner (1973) 
noted an as yet unpublished report of Turinia 
sp. from the Lower Devonian of the Toko 
Syncline of Australia. 

The Receptaculites Limestone fauna is 
notable among known Emsian/Eifelian as- 
semblages for its remarkable taxonomic di- 
versity. It includes components of faunal as- 
semblages found at other, widely distributed 
Lower Devonian localities, all within a single 
assemblage. Skamolepis fragilis is previ- 
ously known only from the Grey Hoek of 
Spitsbergen and Latvia (Karatajute-Talimaa, 
1978). Cheiracanthoides has been found at 
its original localities in North America (Wells, 
1944) and a variety of localities near the 
Ostsee in Germany (Gross, 1973). The 
rhipidistian scale is unique. 

The subassemblage of Onychodus, 
Ohioaspis, and Ohiolepis, which is often as- 
sociated with ptyctodontid tooth plates, has a 
wider distribution. The original association 
was described by Wells (1944) from Ohio, 


12} Devonian Vertebrates 
from Australia 


Postilla 180 


Fig. 12 

Known distribution of Lower Devonian vertebrate 
assemblages with composition similar to that of the 
Receptaculites Limestone. Base map of southern 
hemisphere in Lower Devonian from Smith, Briden, 
and Drewry, 1973. 


Devonian Vertebrates 
from Australia 


Postilla 180 


Indiana, and Kentucky. It was subsequently 
reported by Orvig (1969b, p. 317) from the 
Onondaga of New York State and by Schultze 
(1968) from the Murrumbidgee area of Aus- 
tralia. Schmidt (1961) and Orvig (1969b) re- 
ported Ohiolepis scales from the Heisdorf 
beds of Germany. 


Conclusions 


The diverse fauna from the Receptaculites 
Limestone includes species found in a vari- 
ety of other, widely separated locations. This 
occurrence suggests two conclusions. First, 
it confirms that Australia was not faunally iso- 
lated in the Lower Devonian and that the 
fauna itself had wide geographic distribution. 
A plot of known occurrences of the fauna on 
a paleogeographic map of the Lower Devo- 
nian (Fig. 12) suggests that the localities oc- 
curred in shallow epicontinental marine seas 


of the southern hemisphere and that latitude 
was not a limiting factor of distribution. Sec- 
ondly, the occurrence of diverse members of 
the known Lower Devonian vertebrate fauna 
in a single locality suggests that the fauna 
forms a uniform whole that cannot be sepa- 
rated into subgroups with different en- 
vironmental, stratigraphic, or geographic 
implications. 


Acknowledgments 


| would like to thank the following people who 
have helped in various stages of this project: 
Keith S. Thomson, Brian D. E. Chatterton, 
Susan Turner, and Valentina Karatajute- 
Talimaa. 

The photographs were prepared at Har- 
vard University’s SEM Laboratory, NSF 
Set-up Grant BMS-7412 494. 


Literature Cited 


Browne, I A. 1959. Stratigraphy and structure of the Devonian rocks of the Taemas and Cavan areas, 
Murrumbidgee River, south of Yass, N.S.W. J. Proc. R. Soc. New South Wales 92:115-128. 
Bystrow, A. P. 1960. The microstructure of skeleton elements in some vertebrates from Lower Devonian 


deposits of U.S.S.R. Acta Zool. 40:59-83. 


Chatterton, B. D. E. 1971. Taxonomy and ontogeny of Siluro-Devonian trilobites from near Yass, New 


South Wales. Palaeontographica 137(A): 1-108. 


Denison, R. H. 1951. Late Devonian fresh-water fishes from the western United States. Fieldiana, Geol. 


11(5):221-261. 


1956. A review of the habitat of the earliest vertebrates. Fieldiana, Geol. 11(8):359-457. 


Eastman, C.R. 1908. Devonian fishes of lowa. Ann. Rep. lowa Geol. Surv. 1907:31-385. 

Etheridge, R. 1906. The cranial buckler of a dipnoan fish, probably Ganorhynchus, from the Devonian 

rocks of the Murrumbidgee River, New South Wales. Rec. Aust. Mus. 6(3):129-132. " 
Gross, Walter. 1930. Die Fische des mittleren Old Red Stid-Liviands. Geol. und Palaeontol. Abh., N.F. 18, ) 


lew 2, 


1953. Devonische Palaeonisciden-Reste in Mittel-und Osteuropa. Palaeontol. Z. 27:85-112. 


—— 1969. Lophosteus superbus Pander, ein Teleostome aus dem Silur Oesels. Lethaia 2:15-47. 


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The Author 


Emily B. Giffin. Department of Geology 
Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA 02181.