PONE-D-22-25034The Bothriolepis (Placodermi, Antiarcha) material from the Valentia Slate Formation of the Iveragh Peninsula (middle Givetian, Ireland): morphology, evolutionary and systematic considerations, phylogenetic and palaeogeographic implicationsPLOS ONE

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Additional Editor Comments:

I attach below another review report finished by Dr. Philippe Janvier (this report is informal, but very helpful, since it was not submitted through the website, but instead, was sent to us by email.).

" PONE-D-22-25034-This manuscript describes a new fauna of antiarchan placoderm fishes from the Givetian Valentia Slate Formation of Ireland, and includes an extensive review of the phylogenetic relationships of all the antiarchs known to date, as well as a new analysis of their biogeographical history. The authors are very brave to have tackled these very difficult questions, which once caused me to have many headaches! As a whole, I find this manuscript a remarkable piece, which will be extremely useful to all palaeontologists who happen to find antiarch-bearing (especially Bothriolepis-bearing) outcrops. Bothriolepids were swarming all over the world in the Devonian and I have long suspected that resolving their relationships would once become the leading thread of Devonian paleobiogeography. This is what is achieved here. Therefore, I very strongly recommend the publication of this paper." By Dr. Philippe Janvier

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Reviewers' comments:

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Comments to the Author

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Reviewer #1: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: N/A

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Reviewer #1: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

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Reviewer #1: This research is a thorough investigation on the status of all Bothriolepis species known to date.

The study is centered on a new species of the antiarch placoderm Bothriolepis , found in Ireland. The material , preserved in a tectonised matrix needed to be explored for some crucial specimens with new methods (e.g. Xray scanning). Without the use of such up-to-date technology, it would have been impossible to produce such a thorough study of this material which is also the oldest representative of the genus Bothriolepis in Euramerica.

The systematic description is clear and extensive. It fits with the best tradition with accurate comparisons with the other species representative of the genus . It was necessary in order to base a larger study oriented towards the phylogenetic relationships of all known Bothriolepids . This was a necessary step to compare the new result with previous proposals published by various authors and to discuss the evolutionary story of the diverse species through time and space during the Lower, Middle and Upper Devonian period worldwide.

The extensive study of the relationships between all known Bothriolepids, is done in a magistral way. Bothriolepis is a very difficult matter to study because the material is quite diverse and preserved in various ways often represented by scattered elements. As often with complex fossils some characters used to investigate the phylogenetic relationships are sometime missing and this is a point that explains all the multiple analyses illustrated in the supplementary information . This exploratory part is a very important source of knowledge . It is an innovation relative to preceding published phylogenetic results without the use of extensive computed methodology.

This contribution is an important one and I recommend its publication.

I have some remarks and details about the text ,but it can be done during the revision before publication .

- some formal latinized names are not in italic style.

- Gondwana is not an adjective . It should be "gondwanan"

- Fig 4 A and C are too dark due to the colors that should be lighter in order to avoid the blurring of surface anatomical details of the bones.

-some references bibliographic list are forgotten in text : eg (p.87) Janvier Villaroel ref[105] ; same for Young Moody [ref 103]

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Reviewer #1: No

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The Bothriolepis (Placodermi, Antiarcha) material from the Valentia Slate Formation of the Iveragh Peninsula (middle Givetian, Ireland): morphology, evolutionary and systematic considerations, phylogenetic and palaeogeographic implications

PONE-D-22-25034R1

Dear Dr. Dupret,

We're pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

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Kind regards,

Jinzhuang Xue

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

The authors have made revisions according to the suggestions raised by the reviewers and the editor. And the manuscript is now acceptable for publication. Please note there is a small mistake: on page 16, there is figure legend of Fig. 2; but I believe it is in a wrong place. This error can be resolved when correcting the proof. This paper will be a very valuable contribution to the filed. Congratulations to the authors.

Reviewers' comments: