Devonian placoderm scales from Australia

The morphology and histology of Australian placoderm scales which were found associated with dermal plates are described and compared. The specimens include the arthrodire Buchanosteus confertituberculatus from the Early Devonian (Emsian) of Buchan, Victoria, the arthrodires Goodradigbeeon australianium and Buchanosteidae gen. et sp. indet., the acanthothoracid Murrindalaspis wallacei from the Emsian of Taemas, New South Wales, and the antiarch Wurungulepis denisoni from the Emsian of the Broken River Group of northern Queensland. Isolated scales from Emsian limestones of Taemas-Wee Jasper, N.S.W., and Tyers, Victoria, and Lochkovian/Pragian assemblages from New South Wales and Queensland are also reviewed, to indicate the potential biostratigraphical value of placoderm scales in microvertebrate faunal assemblages, and their relevance to phylogenetic analysis.