Description

Harpagofututor volsellorhinus
Late Mississippian
Bear Gulch Limestone
Fergus County, Montana, USA

100mm complete female fish on 180mm slab

Harpagofututor is a member of the Chondrichthyes, the group to which sharks and chimaeroids belong, but little is known about it. It’s teeth are unusual and likely adapted for preying on shellfish and other invertebrates. It appears to be sexually dimorphic, meaning that males and females are morphologically different from each other. This specimen is a female. Found only in the famous Baer Gulch Limestone lagerstatte, it was discovered by Richard Lund in the 1980’s and described in the Journal of Paleontology.

See: Lund, Richard. “Harpagofututor volsellorhinus New Genus and Species (Chondrichthyes, Chondrenchelyiformes) from the Namurian Bear Gulch Limestone, Chondrenchelys problematica Traquair (Visean), and Their Sexual Dimorphism,” Journal of Paleontology, Vol. 56, No. 4, July 1982, pp. 938-958.

See also: Wikipedia – Harpagofututor