Type Crania of the Devonian Placoderm <i>Macropetalichthys</i> from North America: Resolving Key Nomenclatural and Stratigraphic Conundrums
2025
Loren E. Babcock
<i>Macropetalichthys rapheidolabis</i> Norwood and Owen, 1846 (Placodermi: Petalichthyida), type species of <i>Macropetalichthys</i> Norwood and Owen, 1846, was based on a single cranial roof from the Devonian of southeastern Indiana. Poor preservation, and later destruction, of the holotype has complicated subsequent studies. J.S. Newberry (1873) redefined <i>Macropetalichthys</i> using remains from the Devonian of Ohio. A neotype for <i>M. rapheidolabis</i>, from the Delaware Limestone (Middle Devonian, Eifelian) of Columbus, Ohio, is designated from Newberry’s studied specimens. The genus <i>Agassichthys</i> Newberry, 1857 was erected to receive two species: <i>A. sullivanti</i> Newberry, 1857 and <i>A. manni</i> Newberry, 1857. Newberry (1889) designated a lectotype for <i>A. sullivanti</i> from the Columbus Limestone (Middle Devonian, Eifelian) of Columbus, Ohio; once thought lost, it has been rediscovered. <i>Agassichthys sullivanti</i> is designated as the type species of the genus. A lectotype for <i>A. manni</i> Newberry, 1857, is selected from among the syntypes collected from the Delaware Limestone (Middle Devonian, Eifelian) of Delaware, Ohio. <i>Agassichthys</i> is a junior subjective synonym of <i>Macropetalichthys</i>. With a neotype of <i>M. rapheidolabis</i> on which to directly base taxonomic comparisons, <i>A. sullivanti</i> and <i>A. manni</i> are considered junior subjective synonyms.
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