Antineosteus

Antineosteus is an extinct genus of homostiid arthrodire from the Emsian, Early Devonian Kess-Kess Mounds, in the eastern Anti-Atlas Mountains, Morocco,^[1] and the Barrandian area of the Czech Republic.^[2]

Antineosteus Temporal range: Emsian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Known materials and size comparison of Antineosteus rufus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	†Placodermi
Order:	†Arthrodira
Suborder:	†Brachythoraci
Family:	†Homostiidae
Genus:	†Antineosteus Lelièvre, 1984
Type species
Antineosteus lehmani Lelièvre, 1984
Species
A. lehmani Lelièvre, 1984 A. rufus Vaškaninová and Kraft, 2014

Description

Antineosteus lehmani is rather fragmentary, known from a left anterior dorsolateral plate, a left paranuchal plate, and an inferognathal.^[1][2]

Antineosteus rufus is known from a nearly-complete right head shield plate, and a right anterior dorsolateral plate.^[2] A. rufus is estimated to exceed 3 m (9.8 ft), from measuring the plates with the ones from better-preserved, related taxa.^[2]

Diet

Antineosteus, like many other members of Homostiidae, lacked bladed dentition on their jaws, and was large in size. These traits all in one animal support a planktivorous lifestyle, like baleen whales, or the whale shark, as supported by Denison, 1978, suggesting similar lifestyles for arthrodires like Homostius, making it reasonable for many homostiids to be suspension-feeders like the later Titanichthys.^[2]

Phylogeny

Antineosteus is a homostiid, closest related to Homostius.

Taxonomy shown here is based on "FISH FROM THE EMSIAN OF ARAGÓN".^[3]

	Taemasosteus
	Tityosteus Antineosteus Homostius