Bandringa
Bandringa is an extinct genus of Elasmobranch known from the Pennsylvanian subperiod of the Carboniferous period that was part of the monotypic family Bandringidae. There is currently a single known species, B. rayi, described in 1969. It is known from exceptionally preserved individuals found in the Mazon Creek Lagerstätte of Illinois which dates back to the late Moscovian stage. Discovery and naming The holotype (PF 5686), a juvenile, was found by Ray Bandringa in an ironstone concretion in Illinois during the summer of 1967. By 1979, two species from this genus were originally described, B. rayi and B. herdinae, but the differences between the two were found to be taphonomic in origin. All Mazon Creek individuals appear to represent juveniles, suggesting the area was a nursery for them. Also supporting this notion are fossilized egg cases found in the same localities, though it is unclear whether they belong to this genus. Adult fossils attributed to B. rayi have also been found in spoil heaps from Five Points coal mines near Conesville, Ohio and Cannelton, Pennsylvania, both of which contain the roughly contemporaneous Kittaning Formation of the Allegheny Group. Description Bandringa was a unique looking fish. The most noticeable part of