- Belantsea montana
Taxobox
name = "Belantsea montana"
fossil_range = LowerCarboniferous
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis =Chondrichthyes
ordo =Petalodontiformes
familia =Belantseidae
species = "B. montana"
binomial = "Belantsea montana"
binomial_authority = Lesueur, 1818"Belantsea montana" (named after a legendary ancestor of the
Crow Nation ) was a peculiar-lookingcartilaginous fish that lived during the LowerCarboniferous . Its fossils are found in theBear Gulch Limestone lagerstätte . Its body was oddly built, being leaf-shaped, with muscular fins and a small tail. Such a bodyplan would allow for great maneuverability, but at the cost of speedy cruising. Its few, large, triangular teeth formed a beak-like arrangement that allowed it to graze bryozoans, sponges, crinoids and other encrusting animals."B. montana" is the best known of a group of bizarre cartilaginous fish known as the "Petalodontiformes."
External links
* [http://www.sju.edu/research/bear_gulch/pages_fish_species/Belantsea_montana.php Bear Gulch]
* [http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/prehistoricsharks/gallery4.html Belantsea from Discovery Education]
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