Kingdom Animalia Class Chondrichthyes Family Belantseidae Scientific name Netsepoye hawesi | Phylum Chordata Order Petalodontiformes Species N. hawesi Rank Genus | |
Similar Belantsea, Petalodontiformes, Janassa, Petalodus, Menaspis | ||
Netsepoye top 5 facts
Netsepoye hawesi is an extinct prehistoric cartilaginous fish, which lived more than 320 million years ago, during the Late Mississippian. It has been discovered at the well known Bear Gulch Formation in Montana, United States, dated at Carboniferous period. This Paleozoic fish is mostly known by teeth, though cephalic region and the rest of the body are partially preserved. Pectoral fins were very broad and the pelvic girdle showed very high dorsal process. Netsepoye hawesi is closely related to Janassa.
The name Netsepoye comes from a Native American term, meaning "the people that speaks the same language". The word refers to the Blackfoot Confederacy, hinting that the fossil specimen is in Blackfoot territory as well as another petalodontiform Siksika ottae.