# Aleosteus

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***Aleosteus*** is an [extinct](/source/Extinct) [monospecific](/source/Monospecific) [genus](/source/Genus) of [arthrodire](/source/Arthrodire) [placoderm](/source/Placoderm) fish of the [Early Devonian](/source/Early_Devonian) period. The [type species](/source/Type_species) ***Aleosteus eganensis*** was [described](/source/Scientifically_described) in 2000, and was found in the Late [Emsian](/source/Emsian) strate of the [Sevy Dolomite Formation](/source/Sevy_Dolomite_Formation), in the [Egan Range](/source/Egan_Range) of east-central [Nevada](/source/Nevada), USA. Almost complete fossils belong to juvenile and adult specimens and show a short and broad skull, posteriorly concave.[1]

## Etymology

The generic name *Aleosteus* comes from the Ancient Greco-Roman game "[alea](/source/Alea_(game))", a game of chance involving dice, as an allusion to Nevada's reputation for [gambling](/source/Gambling). The species name *eganensis* is based on the [type locality](/source/Type_locality_(biology)) in the Egan Mountain Range in Nevada.[1]

## Classification

*Aleosteus* is one of the more [basal](/source/Basal_(phylogenetics)) members of the [order](/source/Order_(biology)) [Arthrodira](/source/Arthrodira), closely related to *[Simblaspis](/source/Simblaspis)*, as shown in the [cladogram](/source/Cladogram) below:

## References

1. Johnson, H.G.; Elliot, David; Wittke, James (2000). ["A new actinolepid arthrodire (Class Placodermi) from the lower Devonian Sevy Dolomite, East-Centrai Nevada"](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282614569_A_new_actinolepid_arthrodire_Class_Placodermi_from_the_lower_Devonian_Sevy_Dolomite_East-Centrai_Nevada). *[Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society](/source/Zoological_Journal_of_the_Linnean_Society)*. **129**: 241-266. [doi:10.1006/zjls.1999.0206](https://doi.org/10.1006/zjls.1999.0206)

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