Selenosteus fossil map
Where fossils of Selenosteus have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 360 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 360 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Ancient fish & sharks |
|---|---|
| Lived | 365.2–358.86 million years ago (Famennian) |
| Periods | Devonian |
| Family | Selenosteidae |
| Named by | Dean 1901 |
| Fossil records | 1 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United States |
| Rock formations | Ohio Shale |
About Selenosteus
Selenosteus brevis is an extinct large selenosteid arthrodire placoderm known from the Famennian Cleveland Shale of Ohio. Scrappy remains from the Frasnian Rhinestreet Shales of Erie County, New York, were attributed by Hussakof and Bryant to this genus in 1919, but, this identification is doubtful. A second species, S. kepleri, was described in 1901, but, not enough differences can be seen between its specimens, and those of the type species to warrant new species status.
According to its generally scrappy fossils, S. brevis had a wide skull with tremendous orbits. And as typical for selenosteids, S. brevis had weak gnathal plates. The median dorsal plate is crescent-shaped, and has a keel. The average length of the skull is about 16 centimetres from the tip of the rostrum to the posterior border of the nuchal plate.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Selenosteus (revision 1347900113), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q7447911.
