Listracanthus is a genus of extinct chondrichthyan with uncertain affinities. Species of Listracanthus are known primarily from their tremendous, feather-like denticles, which range up to four inches in length. The denticles had a large main spine, from which secondary spines emanate from the sides, like the barbs of a feather or a comb. Listracanthus first appeared in late Carboniferous strata in North America, and eventually disappear from the fossil record some time during the Early Triassic.[1]
| Listracanthus | |
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| Cluster of Listracanthus denticles on display at the Milan Natural History Museum | |
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| Denticles of the holotype specimen of L. pectenatus | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Order: | incertae sedis |
| Family: | †Listracanthidae |
| Genus: | †Listracanthus Newberry & Worthen, 1870 |
| Species[1] | |
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The appearance of these sharks are largely unknown. However, author and illustrator Ray Troll mentions in his book, Sharkabet, about how paleontologist Rainer Zangerl once discovered a large shale slab containing a long, eel-like fish covered in long, spine-like denticles characteristic of the genus, only to have it dry out and crumble into dust. As such, according to Zangerl's account, Troll reconstructs Listracanthus as resembling a tremendous, fiercely bristled frill shark.[3]
Martill et al., (2014) created the genus Acanthorhachis for the species formerly known as "Listracanthus" spinatus (Bolton, 1896). They also erected the family Listracanthidae to encompass the two genera.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b c Mutter, R.J.; Neuman, A.G. "An enigmatic chondrichthyan with Paleozoic affinities from the Lower Triassic of western Canada". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 51 (2): 271–282.
- ^ Listracanthus on the Paleobiology Database
- ^ Ray Troll (2002). Sharkabet: A Sea of Sharks from A to Z. Westwinds Press, ISBN 1558685197
- ^ MARTILL, DAVID M.; DEL STROTHER, PETER J. A.; GALLIEN, FLORENCE (2013-07-08). "Acanthorhachis, a new genus of shark from the Carboniferous (Westphalian) of Yorkshire, England". Geological Magazine. 151 (3): 517–533. doi:10.1017/s0016756813000447. ISSN 0016-7568. S2CID 129437036.
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