Bothriolepis

Bothriolepis was a widespread, abundant and diverse genus of antiarch placoderms that lived during the Middle to Late Devonian period of the Paleozoic Era. Historically, Bothriolepis resided in an array of paleo-environments spread across every paleocontinent, including near shore marine and freshwater settings. Most species of Bothriolepis were characterized as relatively small, benthic, freshwater detritivores, averaging around 30 centimetres (12 in) in length. However, the largest species, B. rex, had an estimated bodylength of 170 centimetres (67 in). Although expansive with over 60 species found worldwide, comparatively Bothriolepis is not unusually more diverse than most modern bottom dwelling species around today.

Bothriolepis

Hectonichus · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Sits inside
BothriolepididaePBDB
Diet
carnivorePBDB, for Placodermi
Life habit
nektonicPBDB, for Placodermi
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Placodermi

Time the record covers

At least 28 million years on record.

The record covers at least 393.47 Mya to 365.2 Mya. No occurrence read is dated outside 410.62 Mya to 358.86 Mya.

Devonian — about 138 of 138 occurrencesDevonianCarboniferous — about 0 of 138 occurrences412–410 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences410–408 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences408–406 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences406–404 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences404–403 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences403–401 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences401–399 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences399–397 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences397–396 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences396–394 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences394–392 Mya — about 0.9 occurrences392–390 Mya — about 1 occurrence390–388 Mya — about 1 occurrence388–387 Mya — about 8 occurrences387–385 Mya — about 9 occurrences385–383 Mya — about 14 occurrences383–381 Mya — about 17 occurrences381–379 Mya — about 11 occurrences379–378 Mya — about 9 occurrences378–376 Mya — about 9 occurrences376–374 Mya — about 9 occurrences374–372 Mya — about 9 occurrences372–370 Mya — about 5 occurrences370–369 Mya — about 5 occurrences369–367 Mya — about 5 occurrences367–365 Mya — about 5 occurrences365–363 Mya — about 5 occurrences363–361 Mya — about 5 occurrences361–360 Mya — about 5 occurrences360–358 Mya — about 2 occurrences393.47 Mya365.2 Mya412 Mya358 Mya

138 occurrences of Bothriolepis on record, most of them in the Devonian. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

138 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

73 formations

Aztec Siltstone — 78.54°S, 158.43°EAztec Siltstone — 77.88°S, 159.61°EAztec Siltstone — 77.81°S, 160.64°EAztec Siltstone — 78.63°S, 159.45°EAztec Siltstone — 78.58°S, 159.54°EAztec Siltstone — 78.16°S, 159.10°EAztec Siltstone — 78.43°S, 158.68°EAztec Siltstone — 78.53°S, 158.32°EBindaree — 37.17°S, 146.65°EBindaree — 37.17°S, 146.55°EBindaree — 37.76°S, 147.11°EOgre — 57.00°N, 22.61°EOgre — 57.03°N, 22.78°EOgre — 57.00°N, 21.62°EOgre — 57.43°N, 25.91°EOgre — 56.36°N, 24.25°EOgre — 56.71°N, 24.84°EOgre — 56.70°N, 24.88°ESofa — 51.29°N, 74.22°ESofa — 51.13°N, 73.59°ESofa — 50.69°N, 74.45°ECatskill — 41.33°N, 77.08°WCatskill — 41.81°N, 77.78°WCatskill — 41.37°N, 77.08°WKokhai — 51.25°N, 92.50°EKokhai — 51.63°N, 93.72°ELower mudstone unit — 37.17°S, 146.60°EKetleri — 56.70°N, 22.13°EKetleri — 56.59°N, 22.01°EElbert — 37.50°N, 107.63°WElbert — 37.60°N, 107.80°WElbert — 37.54°N, 107.47°WRosebrae Beds — 57.65°N, 3.39°WAlves Beds — 57.65°N, 3.40°WChemung — 39.26°N, 78.23°WChemung — 41.68°N, 76.71°WParting — 38.50°N, 105.92°WParting — 38.67°N, 106.62°WTērvete — 56.46°N, 23.25°EFarlow Sandstones — 53.33°N, 2.51°WEleja — 57.43°N, 25.91°EPļaviņas — 56.64°N, 25.41°EPļaviņas — 56.63°N, 25.46°EAmata — 56.63°N, 25.46°EKatleši — 56.51°N, 25.87°EKatleši — 57.34°N, 27.73°EŠventoji — 55.65°N, 25.11°EYam-Tesovo — 57.86°N, 28.21°EYam-Tesovo — 58.89°N, 30.56°EHunter Siltstone — 33.75°S, 148.34°EHunter Siltstone — 33.75°S, 148.32°EDahepo — 24.78°N, 113.59°EEscuminac — 48.11°N, 66.40°W

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The named rock units Bothriolepis has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 49 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 7 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Bothriolepis and its relatives

Devonian

Where Bothriolepis and its relatives were recorded in the Devonian.

Found in the same rock

417 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 106 sites for Bothriolepis, and this reads all of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

61 references

Each of the 138 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 49 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content3

Picture of Bothriolepis

Credit
Hectonichus
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

CT scan

Licence
not stated by the source
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record
Specimen
Bothriolepis canadensis · L-NS

3D model

Source
Sketchfab
Licence
CC Attribution-NonCommercial
Commercial use
the licence does not allow it

Smithsonian Open Access was not reached for this taxon, so this list is what the others held rather than everything there is.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itBothriolepididae through timeFormations of the DevonianThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Eichwald 1840