Mizia
| Mizia Temporal range: Emsian | |
|---|---|
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| Artist's reconstruction | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Infraphylum: | Gnathostomata |
| Class: | Placodermi |
| Order: | Antiarchi |
| Family: | Yunnanolepididae |
| Genus: | Mizia |
| Type species | |
| Mizia longhuaensis Zhu, 1996 | |
| Species | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Mizia is a genus of primitive antiarch placoderm found in Emsian-aged marine strata of Early Devonian China.
Species
M. longhuaensis
The only known specimen is of a mostly complete thoracic armor from the Xujiachong Formation in Qujing, Yunnan.[1] The armor is very similar to that of Yunnanolepis, but is distinguished by a unique floral pattern of raised ridges and grooves radiating from a point at the center of the dorsal shield of the thoracic armor. A similar pattern is seen on the thoracic armor of the Vietnamese Vukhuclepis. M. longhuaensis' armor is further ornamented with small tubercles.
M. parvus
Originally described as Yunnanolepis parvus. Min Zhu reexamined specimens of Y. parvus, and found the armor, in addition to being rather different from the armor seen in Yunnanolepis, to be more anatomically similar to the holotype of M. longhuaensis, and placed it into Mizia.[1]
References
- 1 2 Min, Zhu. (1996). "The Phylogeny of Antiarcha (Placodermi, Pisces), with the Description of Early Devonian Antiarchs from Qujing, Yunnan, China." (PDF). Bulletin du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle 18: 233–347.