Mene purdyi Temporal range: Late Thanetian ~ | |
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M. maculata (top) and M. purdyi | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Carangiformes |
Family: | Menidae |
Genus: | Mene |
Species: | †M. purdyi |
Binomial name | |
†Mene purdyi Friedman & Johnson, 2005 | |
Mene purdyi an extinct species of ray-finned fish in the genus Mene , from Late Thanetian-aged marine deposits in northern Peru. M. purdyi is currently known only from a single skull and a few post-cranial bones. M. purdyi is among the largest, if not the largest, members of the genus, as the skull suggests that it would have been over 40 centimetres (16 in) in life. The living species, M. maculata , by comparison, grows to an average length of 18 centimetres (7.1 in).
Monte Bolca is a lagerstätte near Verona, Italy that was one of the first fossil sites with high quality preservation known to Europeans, and is still an important source of fossils from the Eocene.
Liopleurodon is a genus of large, carnivorous marine reptile belonging to the Pliosauroidea, a clade of short-necked plesiosaurs. The two species of Liopleurodon lived from the Callovian Stage of the Middle Jurassic to the Kimmeridgian stage of the Late Jurassic Period. It was the apex predator of the Middle to Late Jurassic seas that covered Europe. The largest species, L. ferox, is estimated to have grown up to 6.4 metres (21 ft) in length.
Enchodus is an extinct genus of aulopiform ray-finned fish related to lancetfish and lizardfish. Species of Enchodus flourished during the Late Cretaceous, and survived the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, persisting into the late Eocene.
Dunkleosteus is an extinct genus of large armored, jawed fishes that existed during the Late Devonian period, about 382–358 million years ago. It consists of ten species, some of which are among the largest placoderms to have ever lived: D. terrelli, D. belgicus, D. denisoni, D. marsaisi, D. magnificus, D. missouriensis, D. newberryi, D. amblyodoratus, and D. raveri. The largest and most well known species is D. terrelli, which grew up to 8.79 m (28.8 ft) long and 4 t in weight. Dunkleosteus could quickly open and close its jaw, like modern-day suction feeders, and had a bite force of 6,000 N at the tip and 7,400 N at the blade edge. Numerous fossils of the various species have been found in North America, Poland, Belgium, and Morocco.
Coccosteus is an extinct genus of arthrodire placoderm. Its fossils have been found throughout Europe and North America. The majority of these have been found in freshwater sediments, though, such a large range suggests that they may have been able to enter saltwater. The largest specimens were about 40 centimetres (16 in), although the average length was 20 to 24 centimetres.
Strunius is an extinct genus of lobe-finned fish from the Late Devonian period of Germany.
Greererpeton burkemorani is an extinct genus of colosteid stem-tetrapods from the Early Carboniferous period of North America. Greererpeton was first described by famed vertebrate paleontologist Alfred S. Romer in 1969. The skull was redescribed by Timothy R. Smithson in 1982, while postcranial remains were redescribed by Stephen J. Godfrey in 1989.
Mastodonsaurus is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the Middle Triassic. It belongs to a Triassic group of temnospondyls called Capitosauria, characterized by their large body size and presumably aquatic lifestyles.
Kenichthys is a genus of sarcopterygian fish from the Devonian period, and a member of the clade tetrapodomorpha. The only known species of the genus is Kenichthys campbelli, the first remains of which were found in China in 1993. The genus is important to the study of the evolution of tetrapods due to the unique nature of its nostrils, which provide vital evidence regarding the evolutionary transition of fish-like nostrils to the vertebrate choanae.
The moonfish of the genus Mene, the sole extant genus of the family Menidae, are disk-shaped fish which bear a vague resemblance to gourami, thanks to their thread-like pelvic fins. Today, the genus is represented only by Mene maculata of the Indo-Pacific, where it is a popular food fish, especially in the Philippines, where it is known as bilong-bilong, chabita, hiwas or tahas.
Prionosuchus is an extinct genus of large temnospondyl. A single species, P. plummeri, is recognized from the early Permian period. Its fossils have been found in what is now northeastern Brazil.
Barameda (Indigenous Australian language: "fish trap" is a genus of rhizodont lobe-finned fish which lived during the Tournaisian stage near the start of the Carboniferous period in Australia; fossils of the genus have been reported from the Snowy Plains Formation. While many Paleozoic sarcopterygan fishes are identified by their fleshy lobe fins, fused skull cases and basal qualities, the primary identifier of most Barameda fossils comes from their large rooted fangs, usually 22 centimetres in length, and where the order Rhizodontida and family Rhizodontidae gain their name. The largest member of this genus, Barameda decipiens, reached an estimated length of over 20 feet, rivaling another large rhizodont in size, Rhizodus. Species of Barameda were obligate carnivores, preying on freshwater invertebrates, early fish, and possibly early tetrapods to sustain its massive length.
Xixianykus is a genus of alvarezsaurid theropod dinosaur from the late Cretaceous period of China.
Duerosuchus is an extinct genus of crocodilian. Remains have been found from Corrales del Vino in Zamora, Spain, and are middle Eocene in age. Duerosuchus is known from a single skull that is incomplete but otherwise well preserved, as well as a lower jaw, some osteoderms, and possibly some vertebrae.
Gwawinapterus beardi is a species of saurodontid ichthyodectiform fish from the Late Cretaceous period of British Columbia, Canada. While initially described as a very late-surviving member of the pterosaur family Istiodactylidae, further examination has cast doubt on the identification of the specimen as a pterosaur, and research published in 2012 identified the remains as having come from a saurodontid fish.
Erromenosteus is a genus of extinct, medium-sized brachythoracid arthrodire placoderm from the Late Frasnian of the Kellwasserkalk facies of Late Devonian Bad Wildungen and Bicken, Germany.
Concavispina is an extinct genus of thalattosaur reptile from the early Late Triassic Xiaowa Formation of Guangling, Guizhou, southern China. It contains a single species, Concavispina biseridens. It is known only from the holotype ZMNH M8804, a nearly complete 364 cm long skeleton. Concavispina can be differentiated from other thalattosaurs by possessing two rows of blunt teeth on the anterior part of the maxilla and a V-shaped notch on the dorsal margin of each neural spine in the dorsal (back) vertebrae. Both its generic and specific names refer to these autapomorphies, as Concavispina means "concave spine" and biseridens means "two rows of teeth". It is thought to be most closely related to Xinpusaurus, as both taxa share three derived characters: a maxilla that is curved upward at its anterior end, a humerus that is wider near the shoulder than near the elbow, and the presence of less than five cervicals.
Mene maculata, the moonfish, is the only extant member of the genus Mene and of the family Menidae. The body is highly compressed laterally and very deep vertically. The ventral profile is steep, with a sharp ventral edge. The caudal (tail) fin is deeply forked. The mouth is small and protrusible. The body is silvery below and blue-green on the back, with three to four rows of dark gray spots on the upper side. The first two rays of the pelvic fin are greatly elongated, forming a prominent backward-pointing process on the underside of the fish.
Warrenisuchus is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the Early Triassic of Queensland, Australia. It belongs to a diverse group of Triassic temnospondyls called Capitosauria. The type species Warrenisuchus aliciae was erected in 2009. W. aliciae was originally described as a species of Parotosuchus in 1988, which is known from other species that have been found in Europe, Africa, and Antarctica. In 2000 it was then assigned to a new genus called Rewanobatrachus along with the newly named species R. gunganj, which was declared the type species of the genus. However, R. gunganj was later reclassified as a species of Watsonisuchus, invalidating the name Rewanobatrachus and requiring that R. aliciae be placed in its own genus, which was named Warrenisuchus. However, several studies suggest that Warrenisuchus aliciae may be a species of Watsonisuchus as well. Unlike most capitosaurs, Warrenisuchus is known from many juvenile skulls less than 4 centimetres (1.6 in) in length.
Ocepechelon is an extinct genus of giant protostegid sea turtle known from Late Cretaceous phosphatic deposits of the Oulad Abdoun Basin, Khouribga Province of Morocco. It is known from the holotype OCP DEK/GE 516, a complete but isolated 70-cm-long skull, making it one of the largest marine turtles ever described. It was first named by Nathalie Bardet, Nour-Eddine Jalil, France de Lapparent de Broin, Damien Germain, Olivier Lambert and Mbarek Amaghzaz in 2013 and the type species is Ocepechelon bouyai. The feeding apparatus of Ocepechelon, a bony pipette-like snout, is unique among tetrapods and shares unique convergences with both syngnathid fishes and beaked whales.