Melanosteus
Melanosteus occitanus is a small (skull about 5 centimeters long) selenosteid arthrodire placoderms known from the Upper Frasnian Montagne Noire of Southern France. Rücklin (2011), regards "M. occitanus" as the sister taxon of "Rhinosteus". During the Frasnian, "M. occitanus" lived off the coast of an island continent, "Armorica," which consisted of portions of what would become Southern France. Etymology. The generic name literally translates as "black bone," the color referring to the translation of Montagne Noire, or "Black Mountains." The specific name refers to Occitania, the region of Southern France where the fossils were found.