Thelodont scales from the Lower Devonian of Novaya Zemlya Archipelago, Arctic Russia.

Abstract

: Scales of a new thelodont species, Amaltheolepis terranovi sp. nov., are described from the upper Emsian, Lower Devonian Shevchenkinskaya Formation of Novaya Zemlya, Arctic Russia. The new species shows strong resemblance with the Emsian “Verdalen assemblage” from Spitsbergen, supporting an Emsian age for the upper part of the Shevchenkinskaya Formation. This conclusion in the context of the various Amaltheolepis assemblages from Spitsbergen, allows for a more accurate comparison and correlation between assemblages from different regions in the Northern Hemisphere, suggesting that the type species, Amaltheolepis winsnesi from Spitsbergen, is Eifelian in age.