Millerosteus
minor
Infraphylum
Gnathostomata, Class Placodermi,
Order Arthrodiriformes, Family Coccosteidae
Geological
Time: Middle Devonian (385 Million Years Old)
Size: Fossil
fish is 85 mm in length
Fossil Site:
Old Red Sandstone, Caithness, Scotland
|  Description:
This unusual fish is known as Millerosteus minor. The genus was
named for the self-taught early 19th century geologist Hugh Miller
who was instrumental in describing the Old Red Sandstone from
which this strange fish was taken. It belongs to a group of fish
 known
as the arthrodires, a group of extinct jawed fish that was the
most numerous and diverse vertebrate order of the Devonian.
The specific name minor was given for the small size of this
genus; the largest of the arthrodires was Dunkelosteus at some
9 meters in length! This specimen consists mostly of the partially-disarticulated
head and body plates, but also shows some of the vertebral column
as well. It is the ONLY example of this taxon I have been able
to secure in my 11 year career.
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