Arctacanthus is an extinct genus of cartilaginous fish from the Permian and possibly Triassic periods.

Arctacanthus
Temporal range: Wuchiapingian
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Order: Hybodontiformes
Superfamily: Hybodontoidea
Genus: Arctacanthus
Nielsen, 1932
Type species
Arctacanthus uncinatus
Nielsen, 1932
Species
  • A. exiguus Yamagishi, 2004
  • A. wyomingensis Branson, 1934
Synonyms

Dolophonodus Branson, 1932[1]

Occurrence

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Arctacanthus is known by two named species from the Permian, A. uncinatus and A. wyomingensis.[2][1] The former was described from Greenland while the latter was described from the United States. They are known only by isolated hook-shaped "ichthyoliths" thought to represent dermal denticles of a chimaeran. Some have attributed these to teeth or hybodont cephalic spines. Similar ichthyoliths of much smaller size have been found in Japan and China in rocks of Anisian age. The large difference in age, location, and size means their attribution to this genus is uncertain; nonetheless, the species A. exiguus was named in Japan.[3][4]

References

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  1. ^ a b Branson, C. C. (1934). "Permian Sharks of Wyoming and of East Greenland". Science. 79 (2054): 431. Bibcode:1934Sci....79..431B. doi:10.1126/science.79.2054.431. PMID 17756155.
  2. ^ Nielsen, Eigil (1932). "Permo-Carboniferous fishes from East Greenland". Meddelelser om Grønland. 86 (3): 1–63.
  3. ^ Chen, Lide; Cuny, Gilles; Wang, Xiaofeng (2007). "The chondrichthyan fauna from the Middle-Late Triassic of Guanling (Guizhou province, SW China)". Historical Biology. 19 (4): 291–300. Bibcode:2007HBio...19..291C. doi:10.1080/08912960701248234. S2CID 128482370.
  4. ^ Yamagishi, H. (2004). "Elasmobranch remains from the Taho limestone (lower-Middle Triassic) of Ehime prefecture, Southwest Japan". In G. Arratia; A. Tintori (eds.). Mesozoic fishes 3 — Systematics, Paleoenvironments and Biodiversity. pp. 565–574.