Article: New bothriolepid fish from the Late Devonian of Victoria, Australia

Bothriolepis gippslandiensis Hills and four new species (B. cullodenensis, B. fergusoni, B. bindareei, and B. warreni) are defined, and synoptic descriptions of their atypical features given. Bothriolepid faunas of Victoria permit biostratigraphic correlation between the Cerberean Volcanics (Taggerty) and the dominantly sedimentary Mt. Howitt Province (Mt. Howitt, Freestone Creek). Radiometric dates, palynological evidence, and the absence of Remigolepis, a characteristic Famennian form in the faunas of New South Wales, indicates a Frasnian age for the Victorian faunas. Interrelationships of antiarchs suggest that the bothriolepidoids and asterolepidoids are sister groups. The presence of large lateral pits on the headshield, cristate short armour, ventrolateral scales on the tail, and a primitive pectoral appendage place the Victorian species B. gippslandiensis, B. cullodenensis, and possibly B. fergusoni as the sister group to most other bothriolepids. A revised classification of antiarchs is proposed which places the sinolepids in the new suborder, Sinolepidoidei. The suborder Bothriolepidoidei contains two families: Bothriolepididae Miles and the new family Dianolepididae.