Apsopelix

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Apsopelix
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous (Albian-Campanian)
~95–80  Ma
Apsopelix anglicus LACM.jpg
Apsopelix anglicus fossil (LACM 16445), Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order:† Crossognathiformes
Suborder:† Crossognathoidei
Family:† Crossognathidae
Genus:† Apsopelix
Cope, 1871
Species
  • †A. anglicus(Dixon, 1850)
  • †A. miyazakii(Yabumoto et al., 2012)
Synonyms
  • Apsopelix sauriformisCope, 1871
  • HelmintholepisCockerell, 1919
  • LeptichthysStewart, 1899
  • PalaeoclupeaDante, 1942
  • PelecorapisCope, 1874
  • SyllaemusCope, 1875

Apsopelix is an extinct genus of ray-finned fish that existed about 95-80 million years ago in the shallow waters of the Western Interior Seaway, Hudson Seaway, England, France, [1] and Japan. [2]

Contents

Description

Apsopelix was a small teleost, reaching lengths of 23-27 centimeters (9-10 inches). [2] Fossils possess long gill rakers, which are indicative of a microphagous lifestyle, and evidence of a long gut alongside a robust body show that Apsopelix likely fed on plankton. [1]

Classification

Apsopelix sp. fossil Apsopelix sp.jpg
Apsopelix sp. fossil

The genus Apsopelix has a confusing taxonomic history, with several genera being lumped into it over time. Fossils of the genus found in new locations or preserved unusually would be given distinct genus names, and the holotype specimen was misattributed as a species of Calamopleurus . The genus has also been assigned to a plethora of different teleost groups, such as Mugilidae, Clupeidae, Elopoidei, Clupeomorpha, Osteoglossomorpha, Percesoces, Crossognathidae, Syllaemidae, Pelycorapidae, Apsopelicidae. [1]

Today, Apsopelix is considered to be in the order Crossognathiformes and in the family Crossognathidae, alongside Crossognathus. [2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Teller-Marshall, Susan.; Bardack, David (1978). The morphology and relationships of the Cretaceous teleost Apsopelix / Susan Teller-Marshall -- and David Bardack --. Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.3556.
  2. 1 2 3 Miyata, Shinya; Yabumoto, Yoshitaka; Nakajima, Yasuhisa; Ito, Yasuhiro; Sasaki, Takenori (2022-04-01). "A Second Specimen of the Crossognathiform Fish Apsopelix miyazakii from the Cretaceous Yezo Group of Mikasa Area, Central Hokkaido, Japan" . Paleontological Research. 26 (2). doi: 10.2517/pr200024 . ISSN   1342-8144. S2CID   247958614.


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