Belantsea

Be-lant-se-ah.
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Harper Gray

Paleoartist

Harper Grey combines artistic talent with scientific precision to bring extinct creatures and environments back to life. Collaborating closely with paleontologists

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Name

Belantsea ‭(‬Named after the legendary ancestor of the Crow Nation‭)‬.

Phonetic

Be-lant-se-ah.

Named By

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Chondrichthyes.

Diet

Carnivore.

Species

B.‭ ‬occidentalis‭

Size

Up to‭ ‬70‭ ‬centimetres long.

Known locations

USA,‭ ‬including Kansas‭ ‬-‭ ‬Zeandale Limestone Formation,‭ ‬Montana‭ ‬-‭ ‬Heath Formation,‭ ‬and Nebraska.

Time Period

Baskirian to Gzhelian of the Carboniferous.

Fossil representation

Almost complete individuals.

In Depth

       Belantsea would essentially‭ ‬have‭ ‬been the Carboniferous equivalent of a parrotfish.‭ ‬The body was bulky with strong muscular fins,‭ ‬and an underdeveloped tail which all indicate a preference for manoeuvrability over speed.‭ ‬The teeth are triangular and tightly packed to form a dental arrangement similar to a beak which would have easily‭ ‬broken hard exteriors of invertebrates and bryozoans.‭ ‬Altogether,‭ ‬these features suggest that Belantsea was a reef fish that manoeuvred over prey that could not escape by speed,‭ ‬while also possibly hiding amongst rocks to protect itself from other larger predatory fish,‭ ‬including early sharks.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬New petalodonts‭ (‬Chondrichthyes‭) ‬from the Upper Mississippian Bear Gulch Limestone ‭(‬Namurian E2b‭) ‬of Montana.-‭ ‬Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology‭ ‬9‭(‬3‭)‬:350-368‭ ‬-‭ ‬Richard Lund‭ ‬-‭ ‬1989.

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