Harajicadectes

{{Short description|Genus of stem-tetrapod from the Middle–Late Devonian}}

{{Speciesbox

| fossil_range =
Givetian to Frasnian, {{fossil range|387.7|372.2}}

| image = Harajicadectes zhumini skull and pectoral girdle reconstruction.jpg

| image_caption = Reconstructed skull and pectoral girdle of Harajicadectes zhumini

| genus = Harajicadectes

| parent_authority = Choo et al., 2024

| species = zhumini

| authority = Choo et al., 2024

}}

Harajicadectes ({{IPAc-en|,|h|æ|r|ə|,|dʒ|iː|k|ə|'|d|ɛ|k|t|iː|z}}, meaning "Harajica biter") is a genus of stem-tetrapod from the Givetian to Frasnian Amadeus Basin in Northern Territory, Australia. The type and only species is Harajicadectes zhumini, known from 13 specimens of various preservation quality.{{cite journal |last1=Choo |first1=Brian |last2=Holland |first2=Timothy |last3=Clement |first3=Alice M. |last4=King |first4=Benedict |last5=Challands |first5=Tom |last6=Young |first6=Gavin |last7=Long |first7=John A. |title=A new stem-tetrapod fish from the Middle–Late Devonian of central Australia |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |date=5 Feb 2024 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2023.2285000 |doi-access=free }}

Description

Choo et al., (2024) assigned a holotype and paratype to Harajicadectes, NTM P6410, and CPC 39948 respectively. The holotype consists of a partial skull and much of the body outline in dorsal view with squamation preserved. The paratype consists of a partial skull, right post-temporal and right lower jaw.

Etymology

The generic name, Harajicadectes, is derived from the member the specimens were found in, the Harajica Sandstone Member, and the Greek 'dēktēs', which translates to 'biter'. The specific name, zhumini, honours Prof. Min Zhu of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Beijing; China, for his numerous contributions to early vertebrate paleontology.

Classification

Choo et al., (2024) recovered Harajicadectes as a stem-tetrapod. They reconstructed two trees collated from 336 most parsimonious trees. The first tree is a strict consensus tree, the numbers represent Bremer support values. The second tree is a 50% majority-rule consensus tree, the numbers are node support bootstrap values. Their results are reproduced below:

{{clade gallery |width=450px |height=400px

|caption1=Topology A: strict consensus tree

|cladogram1={{clade| style=font-size:90%;line-height:85%

|label1=Tetrapodomorpha

|1={{clade

|1=Tungsenia paradoxa

|2={{clade

|1=Kenichthys campbelli

|2={{clade

|1=Rhizodontida

|2={{clade

|1=Gyroptychius agassizi