page_title: Bothriolepis
section_title: Bothriolepis canadensis
hierarchical_section_title: Bothriolepis / Species / Bothriolepis canadensis
caption_attribution_description: Italiano: Scaumenacia cyrta &amp; bothriolepis canadensis - fossili - devoniano superiore - Canada - Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano English: Scaumenacia cyrta &amp; bothriolepis canadensis (from Canada) - Devonian fossil - Museum of Natural History of Milan
context_page_description: Bothriolepis was a widespread, abundant and diverse genus of antiarch placoderms that lived during the Middle to Late Devonian period of the Paleozoic Era. Historically, Bothriolepis resided in an array of paleo-environments spread across every paleocontinent, including near shore marine and freshwater settings. Most species of Bothriolepis were characterized as relatively small, benthic, freshwater detritivores, averaging around 30 centimetres in length. However, the largest species, B. rex, had an estimated bodylength of 170 centimetres. Although expansive with over 60 species found worldwide, comparatively Bothriolepis is not unusually more diverse than most modern bottom dwelling species around today.
context_section_description: Bothriolepis canadensis is a taxon that often serves as a model organism for the order Antiarchi because of its enormous sample of complete, intact specimens found at the Escuminac Formation in Quebec, Canada. Because of the vast sample size, this species is often used to compare growth data of newly acquired specimens of Bothriolepis, including those found in the Catskill Formation mentioned above. This comparison allows researchers to determine if newly found samples represent juvenile individuals or new "Bothriolepis" species.
  B. canadensis was first described in 1880 by J.F. Whiteaves, using a limited number of disfigured samples. The next to propose a reconstruction of the species was W. Patten, who published his findings in 1904 after a discovery of several specimens that were well preserved in 3-D. In 1948, E. Stensio released a detailed depiction of B. canadensis anatomy using an abundance of material, which eventually became the most widely accepted description of this species. Since Stensio's publication, many others have provided reconstructed models of B. canadensis with modified aspects of the anatomy, including Vezina's modified single dorsal fin and more recently, reconstructions by Arsenault et al from specimens with little taphonomic distortion. Presently, the model of Arsenault et al. is regarded to be the most accurate, while there is still much debate about various aspects of this species' external anatomy. Despite the uncertainty, B. canadensis is still classically considered one of the most well known species.
  The external skeleton of Bothriolepis canadensis is made of cellular dermal bone tissue and is characterized by distinct horizontal zonation or stratification. The model fish has an average total length of 43.67 centimetres (17.19 in) and an average dermal armor length of 15.53 centimetres (6.11 in), which accounts for 35.6% of the estimated total length. Like many antiarchs, B. canadensis also had narrow pectoral fins, a heterocercal caudal fin (meaning the notochord extends into the upper lobe of the caudal tail) and a large dorsal fin which likely didn't play an important role in propulsion but instead acted more as a stabilizer
caption: B. canadensis preserved with Scaumenacia cyrta, a prehistoric sarcopterygian
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