Cowralepis, a Devonian Armored Fish from Australia

Description: A new taxon of phyllolepid placoderms was described in 2005 as a result of a study of numerous articulated specimens which were first discovered in the early 1990s in the crushed shoulder material for approach roads to the Merriaganowry bridge. The material was traced to a nearby quarry, uncovering a vast treasure of specimens of various sizes. Before this time, only 2 sites for articulated phyllolepids were known in Scotland and Mt Howitt, Victoria, Australia. Phyllolepids derive their name (meaning “leaf scale”) from the distinctive ridged ornamentation of the bony dermal plates. This species was named for the landowner of the quarry. The fish-bearing sequence is some 25 meters in thickness, and hundreds of bedding planes containing specimens are known, the most complete source of articulated specimens known in the world. Interestingly, this is the sole fish found in the deposit, with a few pieces of eurypterid integument and lycopod plant remains and other plant debris the only other fossils found to date. The head and trunk shield are in a fine state of preservation, and a portion of the tail is preserved as well. The reverse shows some fragmentary remains of another specimen.