In Depth
Originally described as a species of the genus Ctenurella in 1977, Austroptyctodus was established as a distinct genus in 1997, mainly upon differences in the pattern of the skull roof. A specimen of Austroptyctodus has been found with three unborn embryos inside of it, clearly showing that Austroptyctodus bore live young as opposed to laying eggs. This discovery along with the description of the genus Materpiscis has helped prove that the ptyctodontid placoderm fish at least gave birth to live young.
Further Reading
- Placoderm interrelationships reconsidered in the light of new ptyctodontids from Gogo Western Australia. - Linnean Society Symposium Series 4: 123-198. - R. S. Miles & G. C. Young - 1977. - Ptyctodontid fishes from the Late Devonian Gogo Formation, Western Australia, with a revision of the German genus Ctenurella Orvig 1960. - Geodiversitas 19: 515-555. - J. A. Long - 1997. - Live birth in the Devonian period. - Nature 453 (7195): 650–652. - J. A. Long, K. Trinajstic, G. C. Young & T. Senden - 2008.
