Enchelion Temporal range: | |
---|---|
Fossil specimen | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Anguilliformes (?) |
Family: | † Encheliidae Hay, 1903 |
Genus: | † Enchelion Hay, 1903 |
Species: | †E. montium |
Binomial name | |
†Enchelion montium Hay, 1903 | |
Enchelion (Greek for "little eel") is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish that lived during the Late Cretaceous. It contains a single species, E. montium known from the upper Cenomanian of the Haqel locality of the Sannine Formation in Lebanon. [1] [2] It is the only member of the family Encheliidae. [3]
It has a small but extremely elongate appearance reminiscent of an eel, but its taxonomic affinities are uncertain, making it hard to classify. It has a unique diplospondylous (two vertebrae in each segment) vertebral column that is unseen in any modern ray-finned fish, and only shared by the enigmatic freshwater Diplospondichthys from the Cenomanian of the Kem Kem Beds in Morocco. Uniquely, it also has no evidence of fins or fin rays, a trait shared with Diplospondichthys; however, these two genera differ in jaw morphology. [2] [4] [5] Some authors have suggested it may represent the earliest known representative of the Saccopharyngoidei, but this is disputed. [6] [7] [8]
The Myctophiformes are an order of ray-finned fishes consisting of two families of deep-sea marine fish, most notably the highly abundant lanternfishes (Myctophidae). The blackchins (Neoscopelidae) contain six species in three genera, while the bulk of the family belongs to the Myctophidae, with over 30 genera and some 252 species.
Halosaurs are eel-shaped fishes found only at great ocean depths. As the family Halosauridae, halosaurs are one of two families within the order Notacanthiformes; the other being the deep-sea spiny eels, Notacanthidae. Halosaurs are thought to have a worldwide distribution, with some 17 species in three genera represented. Only a handful of specimens have been observed alive, all in chance encounters with Remotely operated underwater vehicles.
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.
Anguillavus is an extinct genus of basal marine eel that lived during the Late Cretaceous of Lebanon, where it is known from the Sannine Formation.
Aphanepygus is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine holostean ray-finned fish that lived during the upper Cenomanian. It inhabited the former Tethys Ocean, with remains known from Lebanon and Croatia. Its exact affinities are uncertain, although it is usually recovered as a relative of the macrosemiids. However, other authorities recover it in the Ionoscopiformes.
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.
Enchelurus is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish that lived during the Late Cretaceous. It contains three species, known from the Cenomanian to Campanian of Europe and the Middle East.
Cryptoberyx is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish that lived during the late Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous. Two species are known from southern Europe and the Middle East, both part of the former Tethys Sea.
Barcarenichthys is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish that lived during the Late Cretaceous. It contains a single species, B. joneti, from the late Cenomanian of Portugal.
Aphnelepis is an extinct genus of prehistoric freshwater ray-finned fish that lived during the Late Jurassic epoch. It contains a single species, A. australis, from the Talbragar River beds of New South Wales, Australia.
Eichstaettia is an extinct genus of marine ray-finned fish that lived during the early Tithonian stage of the Late Jurassic epoch. It contains a single species, E. mayri from the Eichstätt Formation of Germany, which is part of the wider Solnhofen Limestone. It was an early stem-group elopiform, making it distantly related to modern tarpons and ladyfish. It was initially described as a species of Anaethalion.
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.
Clupavus is an extinct genus of marine ray-finned fish that lived during the middle of the Cretaceous period. It is known from North Africa, Europe, Brazil, and possibly North America.
Ceramurus is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish from the Late Jurassic. It contains a single species, C. macrocephalus from the Purbeck Group of England.
Elopoides is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish known from the Early Cretaceous of Europe. It contains a single species, E. tomassoni, known from the late Albian of Aube, France. It is thought to be a stem-group megalopid, making it closely related to modern tarpons.
Pleuropholis is an extinct genus of prehistoric ray-finned fish.
The Trachichthyiformes are an order of ray-finned fishes in the superorder Acanthopterygii.
Afrocascudo is a controversial genus of extinct neopterygian fish, either an ancient loricariid catfish or a juvenile obaichthyid lepisosteiform of the genus Obaichthys. It is known from the Late Cretaceous Douira Formation of Morocco. The genus contains a single species, A. saharaensis, known from a partial articulated specimen.
Sahel Alma or Sahel Aalma is a Late Cretaceous paleontological site and Konservat-Lagerstätte in Keserwan-Jbeil, Lebanon. Located near the town of the same name, it documents well-preserved deepwater marine fossils dating to the late Santonian stage of the Cretaceous. It is often associated with the slightly older, similarly famous Sannine Formation sites, with these four sites being together referred to as the "Fish Beds" of Lebanon.
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.