Janassa
genus of fossil fishes
Janassa is an extinct genus of cartilaginous fish. It lived in marine environments in what is now central United States of America and Europe during the Carboniferous and upper Permian. It is known from teeth and a few poorly preserved body fossils from Germany.
It was possibly related to the modern-day ratfish.
Description change
According to the fossils, Janassa had a body plan very similar to that of the modern skate. However, Janassa was a petalodont, a kind of ancient cartilaginous fish related to chimaeras. Its teeth suggest it crushed and ate shellfish, such as brachiopods.
Species change
- Janassa bituminosa Schlotheim, 1820 (type species)
- Janassa clavata M'Coy, 1855
- Janassa kochi Nielsen, 1932
- Janassa clarki Lund, 1989
- Janassa unguicula Eastman, 1903
Type species change
The type species is Janassa bituminosa.
Related pages change
References change
- Schaumberg, Günther (1977). "Die Richelsdorfer Kupferschiefer und seiner Fossilien, III". Aufschluss. 28: 297–352.
Other websites change
- Janassa on English Wikipedia