Tongdulepis concavus, Luo & Pan & Zhu, 2025

Luo, Yanchao, Pan, Zhaohui & Zhu, Min, 2025, A new tubalepid fish (Antiarcha, Placodermi) from the Middle Devonian of Huize, Yunnan, China, Swiss Journal of Palaeontology (11) 144 (1), pp. 1-15 : 4

Tongdulepis concavus sp. nov.

Figures 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7C, D

Etymology— Te specific epithet ‘ concavus ’ refers to the highly concave posterior margin of the anterior median dorsal plate.

Diagnosis— As for the genus.

Holotype — IVPP V33248 , a flattened individual with head shield, trunk armor, and pectoral appendages.

Type locality and horizon— Luna, Huize County, northeastern Yunnan Province, China; Qujing Formation; late Eifelian, Middle Devonian ( Fig. 1).

Description

General features

Te holotype ( IVPP V33248 ) comprises an almost complete head shield, trunk armor, and pectoral appendages. Its surface is covered with sporadic and shallow tubercular ornamentation. Te posterior median dorsal and median ventral plates are missing, and the mixilateral and posterior ventrolateral plates, as well as the distal segment of the pectoral appendage, are incomplete. Te entire fossil has undergone extensive recrystallization, resulting in unsatisfactory CT scanning outcomes .

Figures

Fig. 2 Holotype of Tongdulepis concavus gen. et sp. nov. (IVPP V33248) in dorsal view. A photograph; B interpretive drawing. Scale bar=10 mm

Fig. 3 Holotype of Tongdulepis concavus gen. et sp. nov. (IVPP V33248) in ventral view. A photograph; B interpretive drawing. Scale bar=10 mm

Fig. 4 The three-dimensional reconstruction of the head shield of Tongdulepis gen. nov. A virtual rendering in dorsal view; B interpretive drawing in dorsal view; C virtual rendering in visceral view; D interpretive drawing visceral view. Scale bar=10 mm

Fig. 5 The three-dimensional reconstruction of the trunk plates of Tongdulepis gen. nov. in visceral view. A virtual rendering of the AMD plate; B interpretive drawing of the AMD plate; C virtual rendering of the right ADL plate; D interpretive drawing of the right ADL plate. Scale bar=10 mm

Fig. 6 The three-dimensional reconstruction of the right brachial process of Tongdulepis gen. nov. A virtual rendering in ventrolateral view;B interpretive drawing in ventrolateral view; C virtual rendering in posterior view; D interpretive drawing in posterior view.The interlaced lines mark the fractured surfaces. Scale bars =10 mm

Fig. 7 Comparison of head and trunk shields of several bothriolepidoid representatives. A, B Microbrachius in dorsal (A) and ventral (B) views;C, D, Tongdulepis gen. nov. in dorsal (C) and ventral (D) views; E–F, Tenizolepis in dorsal (E) and ventral (F) views; G, H, Bothriolepis in dorsal (G) and ventral (H) views. A redrawn from Long et al. (2015), B redrawn from Wang and Zhang (1999), E and F redrawn from Moloshnikov (2011), G and H redrawn from Béchard et al. (2014). Not to scale