Redescription of <i>Szelepis</i> Liu, 1981 (Placodermi, Arthrodira), from the Lower Devonian of China

The skull roof of the species <i>Szelepis yunnanensis</i> (Liu, 1979) from the Early Devonian of Yunnan is redescribed, as well as other <i>Szelepis</i> material previously published. It appears that only the holotype of <i>S. yunnanensis</i> can be confidently assigned to this genus. The fusion of the preorbital plates into one plate strongly suggests the assignment of <i>Szelepis yunnanensis</i> to the monophyletic family Actinolepididae Gross, 1940, sensu stricto (comprising <i>Actinolepis</i> Agassiz, 1884, and <i>Bollandaspis</i> Schmidt, 1979). This is confirmed by a phylogenetic analysis. Hence, <i>Szelepis</i> constitutes the most ancient occurrence of the family but not the sister group to the remaining members. SUPPLEMENTAL DATA—Supplemental materials are available for this article for free at www.tandfonline.com/UJVP Citation for this article: Dupret, V., M. Zhu, and J.-Q. Wang. 2017. Redescription of <i>Szelepis</i> Liu, 1981 (Placodermi, Arthrodira), from the Lower Devonian of China. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2017.1312422.