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Zemes un vides zinātnes Earth and Environment Sciences - Latvijas ...

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ACTA UNIVERSITATIS LATVIENSIS, 2004, Vol. 679, pp. 158-165<br />

A new thelodont from Lower Silurian of Tuva <strong>and</strong><br />

north-west Mongolia<br />

ŽIVILĖ ŽIGAITĖ<br />

Živile Žigaite, Department of Geology <strong>and</strong> Mineralogy, Vilnius University, M. K. Ciurlionio<br />

21/27, Vilnius, Lithuania; Institute of Geology <strong>and</strong> Geography, T. Ševcenkos 13, Vilnius,<br />

Lithuania; zigaite@geo.lt<br />

The new thelodont genus <strong>and</strong> species Talimaalepis rimae is described from the upper Ll<strong>and</strong>overy<br />

– Wenlock, Silurian of Central Asia (Tuva <strong>and</strong> north - west Mongolia) based on isolated exoskeletal<br />

microremains. Five major morphological types of dentine scales, namely rostral, cephalo-pectoral,<br />

postpectoral, precaudal <strong>and</strong> pinnal, are distinguished. Scales with pores of the sensory-line<br />

system are also established. According to morphology of scales <strong>and</strong> the internal structure of<br />

dentine tissue, the new thelodont taxon is considered to take an intermediate position between<br />

the genera Loganellia Turner, 1991 <strong>and</strong> Helenolepis Karatajūte-Talimaa, 1978.<br />

Key words: Central Asia, Lower Silurian, Thelodonti.<br />

Introduction<br />

The Central Asia region yields endemic Lower Silurian vertebrate fa<strong>un</strong>a (Karatajūte –<br />

Talimaa 1978; Blieck <strong>and</strong> Janvier 1993). Lower Silurian vertebrate material from outcrops<br />

of north-west Mongolia <strong>and</strong> Tuva have been studied for the present paper. Six<br />

samples with thelodont remains come from north-west Mongolia from the Chargat formation<br />

(Minjin, 2001), Lake Basin locality (Upper Ll<strong>and</strong>overy – Wenlock; I. Sodov, P.<br />

Kosbayar <strong>and</strong> K. S. Rozman collections) (in Karatajūte-Talimaa et al. 1990). Ten scale<br />

samples from Tuva, the Kyzyl-Tchiraa, Elegest <strong>and</strong> Kadvoj sequences represent<br />

thelodonts from Upper Ll<strong>and</strong>overy to Wenlock beds (V. Karatajūte-Talimaa collections).<br />

A new thelodont Talimaalepis rimae gen. et sp. nov. was established <strong>and</strong> is described<br />

below. The form is suggested to take an intermediate position between the<br />

thelodont genera Loganellia <strong>and</strong> Helenolepis.<br />

This work is a contribution to IGCP Project 491 “Middle Palaeozoic vertebrate<br />

biogeodiversity <strong>and</strong> climate”.

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