Hulettia

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Hulettia
Temporal range: Callovian–Tithonian
Pholidophorus americanus NMNH-USNM4788A.jpg
Type specimen
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Subclass: Neopterygii
Genus: Hulettia
Patterson, 1984
Type species
Hulettia americana
Eastman, 1899
Other species
  • H. hawesi? Kirkland, 1997

Hulettia is an extinct genus of ray-finned fish known from United States. This fish genus contains at least one species, H. americana.

Contents

Species

Fossil specimen of "Hulettia" hawesi from Morrison Formation. Hulettia hawesi MWC 5564.png
Fossil specimen of “Hulettiahawesi from Morrison Formation.

The type species, H. americana is originally described as a species of Pholidophorus in 1899. [1] In 1984, its own genus name Hulettia is given, after Hulett, Wyoming. Holotype is known from Sundance Formation of South Dakota, while other specimens are also known from Wanakah (Summerville) Formation, Todilto Formation and Ralston Creek Formation. [2] [3]

Second species, "H". hawesi is described from Morrison Formation of Colorado. This species is named after William Hawes who found the holotype. [4] However, assignment of the species to this genus is questioned in later study, suggesting this species could be a semionotid instead. [5]

H. americana reached their maximum standard length (excluding fins) of 15.5 centimetres (6.1 in), while "H". hawesi is much smaller, with standard length of 5.85 centimetres (2.30 in) (about 7.2 centimetres (2.8 in) total length). [2] [4]

Classification

At 1984, it was classified as Halecostomi incertae sedis . [2] Later study shows that is likely a member of Neopterygii, pan-holostean. [6]

Paleoecology

Formations that H. americana known are considered as marine environment, [3] while Morrison Formation where "H". hawesi described shows freshwater environment. [4] Discovered specimens show evidence of predation upon the smaller species of fish Todiltia . [7]

See also

References

  1. C. R. Eastman. 1899. Jurassic fishes from Black Hills of South Dakota. Geological Society America Bulletin 10:397-408 9/22/14
  2. 1 2 3 Schaeffer, Bobb; Schaeffer, Bobb; Patterson, Colin (1984). Jurassic fishes from the western United States, with comments on Jurassic fish distribution. New York, N.Y: American Museum of Natural History.
  3. 1 2 Kirkland, D. W.; Denison, R. E.; Evans, R. (1995). Middle Jurassic Todilto Formation of northern New Mexico and southwestern Colorado: Marine or nonmarine?. New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources. doi:10.58799/b-147.
  4. 1 2 3 Kirkland, James I. (1998). "Morrison fishes". Modern Geology. 22: 503–533.
  5. Foster, John; Hunt-Foster, ReBecca; Gorman, Mark; Trujillo, Kelli; Suarez, Celina; McHugh, Julia; Peterson, Joseph; Warnock, Jonathan; Schoenstein, Heidi (2018-04-19). "Paleontology, taphonomy, and sedimentology of the Mygatt-Moore Quarry, a large dinosaur bonebed in the Morrison Formation, western Colorado—Implications for Upper Jurassic dinosaur preservation modes". Geology of the Intermountain West. 5: 23–93. doi:10.31711/giw.v5.pp23-93. ISSN   2380-7601.
  6. Near, Thomas J.; Thacker, Christine E. (2024-04-18). "Phylogenetic Classification of Living and Fossil Ray-Finned Fishes (Actinopterygii)" (PDF). Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History. 65 (1). doi: 10.3374/014.065.0101 . ISSN   0079-032X.
  7. http://nmnaturalhistory.org/hulettia.html Archived 2014-09-08 at the Wayback Machine New Mexico Museum of Natural History, 1999