Aulopiformes is a diverse order of marine ray-finned fish consisting of some 15 extant and several prehistoric families with about 45 genera and over 230 species. The common names grinners, lizardfishes and allies, or aulopiforms are sometimes used for this group. The scientific name means "Aulopus-shaped", from Aulopus + the standard fish order suffix "-formes". It ultimately derives from Ancient Greek aulós + Latin forma, the former in reference to the elongated shape of many aulopiforms.
Enchodus is an extinct genus of aulopiform ray-finned fish related to lancetfish and lizardfish. Species of Enchodus flourished during the Late Cretaceous, and there is some evidence that they may have survived to the Paleocene or Eocene; however, this may just represent reworked Cretaceous material.
The Bearpaw Formation, also called the Bearpaw Shale, is a geologic formation of Late Cretaceous (Campanian) age. It outcrops in the U.S. state of Montana, as well as the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and was named for the Bear Paw Mountains in Montana. It includes a wide range of marine fossils, as well as the remains of a few dinosaurs. It is known for its fossil ammonites, some of which are mined in Alberta to produce the organic gemstone ammolite.
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 ray-finned 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.
Apateopholis is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish. It is the only member of the family Apateopholidae and contains a single species, A. laniatus, from the Cenomanian of Lebanon. It was a relative of modern lizardfish and lancetfish in the order Aulopiformes. At least one study has found it to be a potential sister genus to the enigmatic Yabrudichthys of the West Bank.
Cyranichthys is an extinct genus of marine ray-finned fish known from the Late Cretaceous of central Africa and western Europe. It was a member of Dercetidae, a group of elongated aulopiforms.
Dercetis is a genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish. It is the type genus of the family Dercetidae, a group of slender, elongate aulopiforms, which were related to modern lizardfish and grinners. It is known from the Late Cretaceous of Europe, the Middle East, and western North America.
Dercetoides is a genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish from the Late Cretaceous period. It contains a single species, D. venator, known from the early Cenomanian-aged Amminadav Formation of the West Bank, Palestine. It was a member of the Dercetidae, a group of elongated aulopiforms that were related to modern lancetfish and lizardfish.
Stratodus is a genus of giant prehistoric aulopiform fish found in Cretaceous-aged marine strata of Kansas, Alabama, Morocco, Israel, and Niger, South Dakota, Jordan. It has also been found in the Tamaguélelt Formation of Mali, dating to the Lower Eocene, indicating that Stratodus survived the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event. This sleek fish has an upper jaw filled with multiple rows of tiny teeth and was the largest aulopiform, reaching 5 meters in length.
Anguillavus is an extinct genus of basal marine eel that lived during the upper Cenomanian of Lebanon. It is the only known member of the family Anguillavidae. Its primitive nature compared to extant eels is indicated by it still retaining its pelvic fins, which have been lost in modern eels.
The Sannine Formation, also called the Sannine Limestone, is a Cretaceous geologic formation in Lebanon. It is a Konservat-Lagerstätte that contains a high diversity of well-preserved fish, reptiles, and invertebrates from the Tethys Ocean within its three main localities: Haqel, Hjoula, and Nammoura.
The El Doctor Formation is a geologic formation in Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the Albian and Cenomanian stages of the Cretaceous period. Ammonite fossils show that age of Late Albian is more likely.
This list of fossil fishes described in 2019 is a list of new taxa of jawless vertebrates, placoderms, acanthodians, fossil cartilaginous fishes, bony fishes, and other fishes of every kind that were described during the year 2019, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to paleoichthyology that occurred in 2019.
Enchodontidae is an extinct family of aulopiform ray-finned fish known from the mid-late Cretaceous. It contains two subfamilies with several genera, including the famous Enchodus, with great morphological disparity among members of the group.
The Dercetidae are an extinct family of aulopiform ray-finned 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.
Ichthyotringidae is an extinct family of aulopiform ray-finned fish known from the Early to Late Cretaceous. It is one of the Enchodontoidei, a diverse group of aulopiforms that were dominant marine fish during the Cretaceous.
Halecidae is an extinct family of aulopiform ray-finned fish known from the Cretaceous. It is one of the Enchodontoidei, a diverse group of aulopiforms that were dominant marine fish during the Cretaceous.
