Ellesmereia schultzei, VIETH, 1980

Burrow, Carole Jan, Murphy, Michael & Turner, Susan, 2023, Late Silurian to earliest Devonian vertebrate biostratigraphy of the Birch Creek II section, Roberts Mountains, Nevada, U. S. A., PaleoBios 40 (4), pp. 1-32 : 18

ELLESMEREIA SCHULTZEI VIETH, 1980

( FIG. 6A–C ; TABLE 1 ; SUPPL. 1, FIGS. 4 , 5 ,?20)

Ellesmereia schultzei Vieth 1980 , 54, figs. 26, 27, pl. 9.

Type material — Holotype GSC 2 , Member A, Red Canyon River Formation , Ellesmere Island, Canada (Lower Devonian, Lochkovian).

Referred specimens —Rare scales in BCII at level 430.5’ (131.2 m) and possibly another very large scale at level 525’ (160 m): Roberts Mountains Formation.

Description and comparison —The scales at the lower levels have a broad central longitudinal ridge flanked by narrow ridges paralleling the central ridge. All ridges extend the length of the crown. The base is concave with a sub-diamond outline. The morphology conforms to that of the type scales from the Lochkovian Member A, Red Canyon River Formation , Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada, figured by Vieth (1980, pl. 9) .

Figures

Figure 4. Nostovicina and Nostolepis sp. acanthodian scales from the Siluro-Devonian boundary levels of the Birch Creek II section. A. Nostovicina sp. cf. N. elegans: UCR 10755-1 (level 470.2’) in crown view (from Supplement 1, fig. 13). B–D, J. Nostovicina laticristata: B. UCR 10768-10 (level 518.3') in crown view; C, D. UCR 10768-6 (level 518.3') in anterocrown and crown views; J. UCR 10768-11 (level 518.3') horizontal thin section through crown. E–I, K, L. Nostovicina sp. cf. N. guangxiensis; E. UCR 5443-1 (level 562.6') in anterocrown view; F, G. UCR 5443-3 (level 562.6') in crown and lateral views; H. UCR 5443-4 (level 562.6') in posterocrown view; I. UCR 5443-6 (level 562.6') in crown view; K, L. UCR 5443-7 (level 562.6') vertical transverse section, magnified view of crown structure in L. M–P. Nostovicina sp. cf. N. lacrima: M. UCR 5439-8 in lateral view; N. UCR 5439-6 in posterior view; O. UCR 5439-4 (level 549') in lateral view; P. UCR 10768-1 (level 518.3') in anterior view. Q–T. Nostolepis matukhini: Q, R. UCR 5443-2 (level 562.6') in crown and laterocrown views; S, T. UCR 5443-5 (level 562.6') in crown and anterocrown views. Abbreviations: cgz=crown growth zones; h=hyphal borings; Sf=Sharpey’s fiber bundles. Scale bars=0.1 mm, anterior of scale is to right or up, otherwise arrows point to anterior. See Table 1 for meterage.

Figure 5. Funicristata nevadaensis n. gen. n. sp. from the uppermost Silurian of the Birch Creek II section. A–C. UCR 10750-3 (level 456.5') in crown views and magnified view of the crown ridges; D, E. UCR 10750-2 (level 456.5') in crown and lateral views; F, G. UCR 10746-10 (level 430.5') in anterocrown and crown views; H, I. UCR 10746-8 (level 430.5') in anterocrown and laterocrown views; J, K. UCR 10750-10 (level 456.5') vertical longitudinal section; L. UCR 10750-12 (level 456.5') horizontal section through crown. Abbreviations: c=canal; en=enameloid; h=hyphal boring; po=pore openings. Scale bars=0.1 mm in A, B, D–L, 0.01 mm in C; anterior is to left or down, otherwise arrows point to anterior. See Table 1 for meterage.

Figure 6. Chondrichthyan and stem osteichthyan scales from the uppermost Silurian of the Birch Creek II section; A, C–G, light microscope images of whitened specimens; B, ESEM image. A-C. Ellesmereia schultzei. A, scale UCR 10746- 44 (level 430.5’) in crown view (from Suppl. 1, fig. 5); B, UCR 10746-28 (level 430.5’) in anterolateral-crown view; C, scale UCR10746-45 (level 430.5’ in crown and lateral views (from Suppl. 1, fig. 4). D. Polymerolepis sp. scale UCR 10752-1 (level 458.67’) in crown view (from Suppl. 1, fig. 11). E-G. Lophosteus sp. cf. L. superbus. E, dermal bone fragment 10754-1 (level 468’) in external view (from Suppl. 1, fig. 12); F, G, tubercles UCR951-1, 2 (level 457’) in crown views (from Suppl. 1, fig. 10). Scale bars=0.25 mm, anterior of scale is up or to left, otherwise arrow points to anterior. See Table 1 for meterage.