| Eaglesomia Temporal range: ? | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Siluriformes |
| Family: | Claroteidae |
| Genus: | † Eaglesomia White, 1934 |
| Species: | †E. eaglesomei |
| Binomial name | |
| †Eaglesomia eaglesomei (White, 1926) | |
| Synonyms | |
Chrysichthys eaglesomei | |
Eaglesomia is an extinct genus of freshwater catfish, most likely of the family Claroteidae, that inhabited western Africa during the Eocene. [1] It contains a single species, E. eaglesomei, known from the presumably Lutetian-aged marine Oshosun and Ameki Formations of Nigeria. [2]
Initially placed in the modern genus Chrysichthys , a 1934 reanalysis found it to be more similar to the Egyptian fossil catfish Socnopaea , and it was thus reclassified into its own genus within the Claroteidae. [3] However, a 2010 study found it to lack several characteristics of the Claroteidae, and thus not be a claroteid. [4] In contrast, a 2021 study retained it in the Claroteidae based on its distinctive skull ornamentation, which more closely resembled that of claroteids than any other catfish family. [3]
