| Clupavus Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| (unranked): | Otophysi |
| Family: | † Clupavidae |
| Genus: | † Clupavus Arambourg, 1950 |
| Type species | |
| †Clupavus maroccanus Arambourg, 1968 | |
| Species | |
Clupavus is an extinct genus of marine ray-finned fish that lived during the middle of the Cretaceous period. [3] It is known from North Africa, Europe, Brazil, and possibly North America.
It contains the following species:
Fossils of an indeterminate Clupavus species are abundant in the Albian-aged Pietraroja Plattenkalk of Italy, and the Cenomanian-aged Komen Limestone of Slovenia. [7] [8] A few specimens of a potential indeterminate species are also known from the Albian-aged Mowry Shale of Wyoming, USA. [9] [10]
The genus was initially described in 1950 with the species C. neocomiensis(Bassani, 1879) as its type species, based on a specimen from Morocco classified C. cf. neocomiensis. In 1968, the original C. neocomiensis was found to be synonymous with Leptolepis brodiei, so Clupavus was redefined with the newly-described C. maroccanus as the type species. [11] [12] The classification of C. brasiliensis in this genus has been questioned, as it differs from C. maroccanus in the morphology of the caudal skeleton. [13] [14] The species Casieroides yamangaensis and Chardonius longicaudatus from the Democratic Republic of the Congo were initially classified in this genus, but are now known to be unrelated. [4]
Initially described as a member of the Clupeiformes, [12] later studies have found the presence of a Weberian apparatus in members of this genus, indicating them to be basal otophysans. [4] [15] Relatives of Clupavus include Lusitanichthys and possibly Jhingrania . [16] [17]
Clupavus is one of the most common fossil fishes in the formations where it occurs in Europe. [5] [7] [8] They are especially common in the Hesseltal Formation of Germany, from around the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary. These German fossils indicate that Clupavus was a widespread, sardine-like shoaling fish, closely associated with cool waters from upwelling, that served as the base of the food chain in marine ecosystems of the Tethys Sea and pre-North Sea. Remains of Clupavus have been found as the fossilized stomach contents of medium-sized predatory fishes such as Bananogmius ornatus and possibly Protostomias maroccanus . [5]
Clupeiformes is the order of ray-finned fish that includes the herring family, Clupeidae, and the anchovy family, Engraulidae. The group includes many of the most important forage and food fish.
Characiformes is an order of ray-finned fish, comprising the characins and their allies. Grouped in 18 recognized families, more than 2000 different species are described, including the well-known piranha and tetras.
Ichthyodectiformes is an extinct order of marine stem-teleost ray-finned fish. The order is named after the genus Ichthyodectes, established by Edward Drinker Cope in 1870. Ichthyodectiforms are usually considered to be some of the closest relatives of the teleost crown group.
Cimolichthys is an extinct genus of large predatory marine aulopiform fish known worldwide from the Late Cretaceous. It is the only member of the family Cimolichthyidae.
Apateodus is a genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish which was described by Woodward in 1901. It was a relative of modern lizardfish and lancetfish in the order Aulopiformes, and one of a number of prominent nektonic aulopiforms of Cretaceous marine ecosystems.
Bananogmius is an extinct genus of marine ray-finned fish that was found in what is now North America and Europe during the Late Cretaceous, from the Cenomanian to the Santonian. It lived in the Western Interior Seaway, which split North America in two during the Late Cretaceous, as well as the proto-North Sea of Europe.
Cladocyclus is an extinct genus of marine ichthyodectiform fish from the middle Cretaceous. It was a predatory fish of about 1.20 metres (3.9 ft) in length.
Chirocentrites is an extinct genus of marine ray-finned fish in the order Ichthyodectiformes. It contains a single species, C. coroninii, from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) of Slovenia. A potential specimen is also known from the Albian-aged Pietraroja Plattenkalk of southern Italy, but it has been suggested that this specimen actually represents Cladocyclus.
Aulolepis is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish that lived from the middle Cenomanian to the late Turonian. It contains a single species, A. typus from the Chalk Group of the United Kingdom and the Hesseltal Formation of Germany.
Araripichthys is an extinct genus of marine ray-finned fish that lived from the Aptian to Coniacian stages of the Cretaceous period. The genus is named after the Araripe Basin, where it was found in the Crato and Santana Formations. Other fossils of the genus have been found at Goulmima in Morocco, the Tlayua Formation of Mexico and the Apón Formation of Venezuela.
Ctenocephalichthys is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish, generally considered a holocentriform, that lived during the Late Cretaceous. It is known from Cenomanian to the Santonian of Lebanon.
Anomoeodus is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Pycnodontidae. This genus primarily lived during the mid-to-late Cretaceous period, ranging from the Albian to the very end of the Maastrichtian age, and possibly into the Danian. The first fossils of Anomoeodus were described by Louis Agassiz in 1833, although they were described under Pycnodus. Some studies have recovered it as a wastebasket taxon.
Ctenothrissa is a prehistoric genus of marine ray-finned fish in the order Ctenothrissiformes. It contains a number of species known from the Late Cretaceous of England and Lebanon.
Coelodus is an extinct genus of marine and possibly freshwater pycnodont fish. It contains only one definitive species, C. saturnusHeckel, 1854, from the Late Cretaceous of Slovenia. Other species from the Late Jurassic to the Eocene have also been attributed to this genus based on isolated dental elements, but their assignment to Coelodus is uncertain, and this genus likely represents a non-monophyletic wastebasket taxon. A potential diagnostic trait is a prearticular tooth row with three regular highly elongated teeth.
Davichthys is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish related to modern ladyfish. It is known from the Late Cretaceous of southern Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. It is one of the earliest known elopids.
Pycnodontidae is an extinct family of ray-finned fishes, ranging from the Jurassic period until the Eocene. It was the largest and most derived family of the successful Mesozoic fish order Pycnodontiformes, and one of only two families to survive into the Cenozoic.
Armigatus is an extinct genus of marine clupeomorph fishes belonging to the order Ellimmichthyiformes. These fishes lived in the Cretaceous ; their fossil remains have been found in Mexico, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, suggesting the genus ranged across the Tethys Sea.
The Dercetidae are an extinct family of aulopiform fish that are known from the Late Cretaceous to the early Paleocene. They are among the many members of the diverse, extinct suborder Enchodontoidei, which were dominant during the Cretaceous.
The Akrabou Formation is a Late Cretaceous -aged geological formation and Konservat-Lagerstätte in Morocco. It overlies the slightly older freshwater deposits of the Kem Kem Group, which it was once thought to be apart of. It was deposited over following the Kem Kem ecosystem's submergence by the Tethys Ocean during a marine transgression from the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary event, as part of a wider deposition of carbonate platforms across the region from the event.
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