Gluteus (genus)
Gluteus minimus | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | |
Phylum: | |
Genus: | †Gluteus Davis & Semken, 1975
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Species: | †G. minimus
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Binomial name | |
†Gluteus minimus Davis & Semken, 1975
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Gluteus minimus is an extinct species of
Collection history
Specimens of G. minimus were first collected by
At a similar time to Weller's collections, Charles Rochester Eastman collected specimens from the Kinderhook Beds at Burlington, Des Moines County, Iowa.[1][4] C. H. Belanski collected specimens 30 years later from the Lime Creek Formation in Floyd County, Iowa.[1] Thousands of specimens have since been collected from the Maple Mill Shale and nearby sites, and two have been found in a well at Columbus City, Iowa.[1]
Description
Gluteus minimus was
Gluteus minimus appears as lenticular (lens-shaped), bilobed fossils, with a size up to 11 mm × 8 mm (0.43 in × 0.31 in). In a sample of 400 specimens, the median diameter was 7.4 mm (0.29 in), with a range of 4.5–10.0 mm (0.18–0.39 in).[1] Each fossil has two dissimilar surfaces – one smooth with one or rarely two furrows, and one with conspicuous "growth lines", parallel with the outer edge of the fossil. The overall shape is broadly symmetrical, but the furrow is almost always on the same side of the "re-entrant" (the cleft between the two halves).[1] Opposite the re-entrant is a "salient", which separates two indentations in the margin.[1]
The specimens of G. minimus are made of
Classification
The identity of Gluteus minimus has been enigmatic since its original discovery. Weller's specimens collected in 1902 are labelled "Fish remains?" in his sister's handwriting, Burlington's specimens are labelled "Cone scales?", and Belanski described them as "apparently dermal ossifications of some fish".[1] While Gluteus minimus has been interpreted as either a fish tooth or a brachiopod,[5] it cannot be confidently placed in any phylum,[1] and more recent 3D analyses suggest it may be an otolith or statolith from a Devonian free-swimming animal rather than an entire organism or the shell of an organism.[2]
References
- ^ PMID 17838783.
- ^ a b Hegna, Thomas; Snyder, Daniel (2014). "Horse collars" are for balancing? The function of an enigmatic Devonian fossil re-examined with 3D visualization. 10th North American Paleontological Convention.
- JSTOR 1485437.
- FieldianaGeology. 37 (1): 1–41.
- ISBN 978-0-442-22651-0.
External links
- "Nutty Nomenclature". Null Hypothesis: The Journal of Unlikely Science. 2007.