Marcopoloichthys

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Marcopoloichthys
Temporal range: Middle TriassicLate Triassic
Marcopoloichthys furreri lateral view 2.jpg
Specimens of M. furreri
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Clade: Teleosteomorpha
Family: Marcopoloichthyidae
Tintori et al, 2007
Genus: Marcopoloichthys
Tintori, Sun, Lombardo, Jiang, Sun, Rusconi & Hao, 2007
Species
  • M. aniTintori et al, 2007
  • M. andreettiTintori et al, 2007
  • M. faccii(Gortani, 1907)
  • M. furreriArratia, 2022

Marcopoloichthys is an extinct genus of teleosteomorph ray-finned fish known from the Middle and Late Triassic of the former Tethys Ocean (Italy, Switzerland, and China). It is the only genus in the family Marcopoloichthyidae. It was originally described based on specimens from both Italy and China, hence the name Marcopoloichthys, which references the medieval Venetian merchant Marco Polo, who travelled from Italy to China. [1] [2]

Four species are known: [1] [3]

The youngest Marcopoloichthys fossils are of an undescribed species from the Norian of Friuli, Italy. [3]

The skull of M. furreri at rest and during feeding, showing the specialized jaws Marcopoloichthys furreri skull reconstructions.jpg
The skull of M. furreri at rest and during feeding, showing the specialized jaws

Marcopoloichthys was a small, scaleless fish with highly specialized, protractile jaws for suction feeding, and a combination of primitive and advanced morphological characters that make it difficult to phylogenetically place. Initially described as an indeterminate basal neopterygian, more recent studies have found it to be a stem-teleost. It somewhat resembles another early teleostomorph, Prohalecites . [1] [3]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Tintori, Andrea; Sun, Zuo-Yu; Lombardo, Cristina; Jiang, Da-Yong; Sun, Yuan-Lin; Rusconi, Marco; Hao, Wei-cheng (2007). "NEW SPECIALIZED BASAL NEOPTERYGIANS (ACTINOPTERYGII) FROM TRIASSIC OF THE TETHYS REALM". Geol. Insubr. 10 (2) via ResearchGate.
  2. "PBDB". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  3. 1 2 3 Arratia, Gloria (2022-05-07). "The outstanding suction-feeder Marcopoloichthys furreri new species (Actinopterygii) from the Middle Triassic Tethys Realm of Europe and its implications for early evolution of neopterygian fishes". Fossil Record. 25 (2): 231–261. doi: 10.3897/fr.25.85621 . ISSN   2193-0074.