Mamulichthys

Mamulichthys Temporal range: Guadalupian ~272–259  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Restoration of Mamulichthys ignotus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	† Discordichthyiformes
Family:	† Discordichthyidae
Genus:	† Mamulichthys
Species:	†M. ignotus
Binomial name
†Mamulichthys ignotus Minich, 2014

Mamulichthys is an extinct genus of prehistoric bony fish that lived during the Urzhumian age (Guadalupian/middle Permian epoch) in what is now European Russia (Orenburg Oblast). ^{[1] [2]} The type and only species, Mamulichthys ignotus, is known from a single specimen preserving the skull and anterior body portion, which was recovered from the uppermost part of the Amanak Formation. ^[1] Holotype of M. ignotus is the first complete skeleton of discordichthyiform. ^[2]

Description

Operculum is large and rounded. On the ventral side there are longitudinal rows of large and massive crescent-shaped scales, overlapping each other. All dermal bones have hollow tubercles of various shapes and sizes. The lateral scales are high. The spines of the dorsal and pectoral fins are large. ^[1]

Classification

Together with Discordichthys , Geryonichthys , and Mutovinia , Mamulichthys is placed in the family Discordichthyidae in the monotypic order Discordichthyiformes. They are endemic to the Permian of European Russia and characterized by their peculiar skull morphology, and the presence of dorsal and pectoral fin spines (two of each). ^[1] They could be stem Actinopterygii, relict forms that survived into the Permian.

The status of M. ignotus as a distinct taxon was contested by Bakaev, Bazhenov & Alalykin (2025), who argued that it might be a junior synonym of Mutovinia stella. ^[3]

See also

• Paleontology portal
• Fish portal

• Prehistoric fish
• List of prehistoric bony fish

References

1. Minikh (=Minich), Alla V. (2014). "Mamulichthys ignotus gen. et sp. nov., a new actinopterygian from the Middle Permian of the southeastern East Europe Platform". Paleontological Journal. 48 (2): 201–208. doi:10.1134/S0031030114020087. S2CID   85342834.
2. Bakaev A.S (2022). "A review of the history of studying the Permian bony fish of European Russia" (PDF). Uchenye Zapiski Kazanskogo Universiteta. Seriya Estestvennye Nauki (in Russian). 164 (3): 486. doi:10.26907/2542-064X.2022.3.475-500. ISSN   2500-218X. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-08-10.
3. Bakaev, A. S.; Bazhenov, S. M.; Alalykin, A. S. (2025). "First Find of Discordichthys spinifer A. Minikh in the Kazanian of the Udmurt Republic (Cis-Ural Region, Russia) and Stratigraphic Distribution of Discordichthyidae (Osteichthyes: Discordichthyiformes)". Paleontological Journal. 59 (2): 185–190. doi:10.1134/S003103012560009X.