Priscomyzon preserves a Devonian lamprey oral disc
The 4.2 cm holotype AM5750 from Famennian strata preserves a large oral disc, fourteen circumoral teeth and a branchial basket, establishing a specimen-level total-group lamprey record without demonstrating a modern lifecycle or crown-group FAD.
Represented range360–359 Ma
RegionsWaterloo Farm, Witpoort Formation, Eastern Cape, South Africa
The 4.2 cm Priscomyzon riniensis holotype AM5750 from the Famennian Witpoort Formation at Waterloo Farm, approximately 360 Ma, preserves a large oral disc, fourteen circumoral teeth and a branchial basket; it is total-group lamprey evidence and does not directly establish a crown-Petromyzontida FAD, parasitic feeding, migration or an ammocoete lifecycle.