Mimiidae


 

 Mimia, a basal actinopterygian from the Late Devonian.

 

Actinopterygian node C (defining node of the ACTINOPTERI): Accessory vomarine tooth plate, all fins possess branching rays.

 

The mimiids' teeth are capped with a dense variety of dentine (acrodin), and they possess a distinctive dermal element near the shoulder girdle. The upper jaws' teeth are present on the maxilla and premaxilla, as well as on the parasphenoid - a midline braincase bone - and other smaller elements of the palate. Mimia also possesses a characteristic skull bone organisation: its nasal bone contacts the dermosphenotic above the orbit, the latter in turn meeting the supratemporal.

The posterior skull sports a host of thin dermal bone covering the gills, the opercular series. Dorsally, the preopercular fits between the maxilla and opercular, then runs ventrally alongside the subopercular. Mimia also possesses branchiostegal rays running from the ventral margin of the dentary to that of the subopercular, a typical feature of basal actinopterygians, which usually possess 12-13 of these elements.

 


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