Dorsetichthys
| Dorsetichthys Temporal range: Early Jurassic (Sinemurian),
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|---|---|
| Fossil of D. bechei,Teylers Museum, Haarlem | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Division: | Teleostei |
| Order: | †Dorsetichthyiformes Arratia, 2013 |
| Family: | †Dorsetichthyidae Arratia, 2013 |
| Genus: | †Dorsetichthys Arratia, 2013 |
| Species: | †D. bechei
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| Binomial name | |
| †Dorsetichthys bechei (Agassiz, 1837)
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| Synonyms | |
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Dorsetichthys is an extinct genus of marine stem-teleost ray-finned fish from the Early Jurassic period of Europe. It contains a single species, D. bechei, known from the Sinemurian-aged Lower Lias of England and the Moltrasio Formation of Italy.[1][2]
Description
Dorsetichthys was an elongated teleost that could reach up to 20 centimetres (7.9 in) long.[3][4] This fish had ganoid scales close to modern gars.[3]
Taxonomy
The type species of Dorsetichthys, D. bechei, was formerly assigned to Pholidophorus, but Arratia (2013) recognized it as generically distinct from the Pholidophorus type species, placing it in the new family Dorsetichthyidae and new order Dorsetichthyiformes.[3]
Dorsetichthys is widely considered to be a teleosteomorph, a primitive early relative of teleosts, the group that comprises the vast majority of living ray-finned fish. Cladogram of Teleosteomorpha after Sferco et al. 2021:[5]
| Teleostei total group (Teleosteomorpha) |
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Ecology
One probable specimen of Dorsetichthys has been found preserved within the jaws of the larger fish Dapedium punctatum suggesting that it was preyed upon by the larger fish.[6]
References
- ^ "PBDB Taxon". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
- ^ Franceschi, Fabio; Marramà, Giuseppe; Carnevale, Giorgio (2026-01-16). "BONY FISHES (OSTEICHTHYES) FROM THE SINEMURIAN (JURASSIC) OSTENO KONSERVAT-LAGERSTÄTTE (COMO, NW ITALY)". RIVISTA ITALIANA DI PALEONTOLOGIA E STRATIGRAFIA. 132 (1). doi:10.54103/2039-4942/29058. ISSN 2039-4942.
- ^ a b c Arratia, Gloria (November 2013). "Morphology, taxonomy, and phylogeny of Triassic pholidophorid fishes (Actinopterygii, Teleostei)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 33 (sup1): 1–138. Bibcode:2013JVPal..33S...1A. doi:10.1080/02724634.2013.835642. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 86605978.
- ^ Nybelin, Orvar (1966). "On certain Triassic and Liassic representatives of the family Pholidophoridae s. str". Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Geology. 11: 351––432.
- ^ Sferco, Emilia; López-Arbarello, Adriana; Báez, Ana María (December 2015). "Phylogenetic relationships of †Luisiella feruglioi (Bordas) and the recognition of a new clade of freshwater teleosts from the Jurassic of Gondwana". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 15 (1): 268. Bibcode:2015BMCEE..15..268S. doi:10.1186/s12862-015-0551-6. ISSN 1471-2148. PMC 4668602. PMID 26630925.
- ^ Smithwick, Fiann M. (12 January 2015). Johanson, Zerina (ed.). "Feeding ecology of the deep‐bodied fish Dapedium (Actinopterygii, Neopterygii) from the Sinemurian of Dorset, England". Palaeontology. 58 (2): 293–311. doi:10.1111/pala.12145. ISSN 0031-0239.