# Minicrania

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***Minicrania*** ("small skull") is an extinct genus of tiny [antiarch](/source/Antiarchi) fish, with armor averaging up to about 2 centimetres (0.79 in) long, which lived during the [Lochkovian](/source/Lochkovian) epoch in Early [Devonian](/source/Devonian) [Yunnan Province](/source/Yunnan_Province), [China](/source/China) and northern [Vietnam](/source/Vietnam).

Anatomically, *Minicrania* bears a strong resemblance to the Yunnanolepiformids (i.e., *[Yunnanolepis](/source/Yunnanolepis)* and *[Chuchinolepis](/source/Chuchinolepis)*).[2] However, other anatomical features, especially the head-width ratios, separate it from the Yunnanolepiformids. Zhu and Janvier regard it as the sister taxon of the sinolepids and the Euantiarchi (i.e., the bothriolepids and the asterolepids), representing a transitional form between the Euantiarchi and the more primitive Yunnanolepiformids.

There are two recognized species. The type species, *M. lirouyii*, is found in [Lochkovian](/source/Lochkovian)-aged strata in [Qujing](/source/Qujing), Yunnan, and is characterized by the presence of numerous tubercles covering the dermal surface of the armor. The specific name honors a Mr. Li Rou-yi, who assisted in collecting the first specimens. The second species, *M. lissa*,[1] is found in Lochkovian deposits in northern Vietnam, near the Chinese border. *M. lissa'*s tubercles are comparatively very small and ill-defined, if present, hence the specific epithet "lissa" meaning "smooth." Otherwise, the armor is very similar, if not identical to that of *M. lirouyi.*

## References

1. Janvier, P. & Phuong, T.H. (1999). "Les vertébrés (Placodermi, Galeaspida) du Dévonien inférieur de la coupe de Lung Cô-Mia Lé, province de Hà Giang, Viêt Nam, avec des données complémentaires sur les gisements à vertébrés du Dévonian du Bac Bo oriental.". *Geodiversitas*. **21**: 33–67.

1. Zhu, Min & Philippe Janvier (March 1996). "A small antiarch, *Minicrania lirouyii* gen. Et sp. Nov., from the Early Devonian of Qujing, Yunnan (China), with remarks on antiarch phylogeny". *Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology*. **16** (1): 1–15. [Bibcode:1996JVPal..16....1Z](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1996JVPal..16....1Z). [doi:10.1080/02724634.1996.10011278](https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.1996.10011278)

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