First articulated phyllolepid placoderm from North America, with comments on phyllolepid systematics

Abstract

The first articulated phyllolepid placoderm from North America (outside of Greenland) is described from the Upper Devonian Catskill Formation in north-central Pennsylvania. Phyllolepis rossimontina Lane and Cuffey 2005, from the same formation, and the genus Phyllolepis are reviewed based on the new Catskill Formation material and data from a range of recently described Southern Hemisphere taxa. Phyllolepids can be a valuable tool for biostratigraphic correlation due to their narrow age range within the Famennian stage of the Late Devonian in the Euramerican Province (Northern Hemisphere). Faunal exchange between Euramerica and Gondwana during the Late Devonian and the association of Phyllolepis with early tetrapods are discussed in the context of early tetrapod biogeography.