Research Paper
A new dipnoan species Janvierpaucidentes tuulingi gen. et sp. nov. from the Pragian (Early Devonian) of Mimerdalen, Svalbard (Norway), with an unusual dentition)
ZERINA JOHANSON
Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London, SW7 5BD, UK; z.johanson@nhm.ac.uk
Corresponding author
MICHAEL J. NEWMAN
Vine Lodge, Vine Road, Johnston, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, SA62 3NZ, UK; ichthyman@btinternet.com
GIZEH RANGEL-DE LAZARO
Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London, SW7 5BD, UK; g.rangel@nhm.ac.uk
MOYA MEREDITH SMITH
Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London, SW7 5BD, UK.
Center for Oral, Clinical & Translational Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences, King’s College London, UK; moyasmith@orange.fr
ROGER JONES
6 Burghley Road, Wimbledon, London, SW19 5BH, UK; charnaud@btinternet.com
ABSTRACT
A new dipnoan lower jaw from the Wood Bay Formation (Pragian) of Svalbard (Norway), preserves a partial dentary and partial toothplates referred to the new species Janvierpaucidentes tuulingi gen. et sp. nov. The more complete toothplate is elongate with three short rows of teeth but is damaged medially. A large number of dipnoans are known from the Early Devonian, showing a range of dentitions. Other tooth-plated dipnoans from this time period include Diabolepis speratus, Speonesydrion iani, Tarachomylaxoepiki, Tarachomylax multicostatus, Ichnomylaxkurnae and Ichnomylaxkaratajae, and two unnamed toothplates from Vietnam. In Melanognathuscanadensis, rows of teeth are located along the prearticular, which is otherwise covered in a shagreen of denticles; this denticle-dominated dentition also characterized Uranolophus wyomingensis. The dentition of Janvierpaucidentes tuulingi differs from these toothplate morphologies and is highly unusual in having the more rostral and caudal tooth rows nearly paralleling the jaw margin, with a maximum angle between the tooth rows approaching 180 degrees. In this character, Janvierpaucidentes tuulingi is more comparable to taxa such as Xylognathus macrustenus from the Carboniferous, increasing the already high disparity of lungfish dental morphology in the Devonian.
Key words: Dipnoi, Svalbard, Early Devonian, Pragian, Wood Bay Formation, Carboniferous
How to cite: Johanson, Z., Newman, M.J., Rangel-De Lazaro, G., Meredith Smith, M., & Jones, R. 2023. A new dipnoan species Janvierpaucidentes tuulingi gen. et sp. nov. from the Pragian (Early Devonian) of Mimerdalen, Svalbard (Norway), with an unusual dentition. Spanish Journal of Palaeontology, 38(1), 69-80.
Received 20 January 2022, Accepted 5 May 2023, Published online 22 May 2023
https://doi.org/10.7203/sjp.26647
