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Belantsea; Temporal range: Lower Carboniferous
	Balantsea montana
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Chondrichthyes
Subclass:	Holocephali
Order:	†Petalodontiformes
Family:	†Belantseidae
Genus:	†Belantsea; Lund, 1989
Type species
	Belantsea montana; Lund, 1989
Species
	Belantsea montana Lund, 1989; Belantsea occidentalis (St. John and Worthen, 1875);
Synonyms
	Ctenopetalus occidentalis St. John and Worthen, 1875;

Belantsea (named after a legendary ancestor of the Crow Tribe) is a genus of extinct petalodontid cartilaginous fish that lived during the Lower Carboniferous, about 350 million years ago. Its fossils are found in the Bear Gulch Limestone lagerstätte. Its body was leaf-shaped, with muscular fins and a small tail. Such a body plan would allow for great maneuverability, but at the cost of speedy cruising. Its few, large, triangular teeth formed a beak-like arrangement that allowed it to graze bryozoans, sponges, crinoids, and other encrusting animals. The genus contains two species, B. montana and B. occidentalis.

Belantsea is the best known member of the order Petalodontiformes.

References

^ Lund, Richard (1989). "New petalodonts (Chondrichthyes) from the Upper Mississippian Bear Gulch Limestone (Namurian E₂b) of Montana". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 9 (3): 350–368. doi:10.1080/02724634.1989.10011767.

External links

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[Lund-1] Lund, Richard (1989). "New petalodonts (Chondrichthyes) from the Upper Mississippian Bear Gulch Limestone (Namurian E₂b) of Montana". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 9 (3): 350–368. doi:10.1080/02724634.1989.10011767.

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