Monte Bolca is an Early Eocene-aged geologic site located near Verona, Italy. A Konservat-Lagerstätte, it contains an extremely well-preserved and diverse marine biota, including the most diverse fish fauna of any Cenozoic fossil site, as well as many of the earliest fossil occurrences of modern marine fish groups. It was one of the first fossil sites with high quality preservation known to Europeans, with studies of its biota dating back to the 18th century and earlier, and is still an important source of fossils.
The school shark is a houndshark of the family Triakidae, and the only living member of the genus Galeorhinus. Common names also include tope, tope shark, snapper shark, and soupfin shark. It is found worldwide in temperate seas at depths down to about 800 m (2,600 ft). It can grow to nearly 2 m long. It feeds both in midwater and near the seabed, and its reproduction is ovoviviparous. This shark is caught in fisheries for its flesh, its fins, and its liver, which has a very high vitamin A content. The IUCN has classified this species as critically endangered in its Red List of Threatened Species.
Pycnodus is an extinct genus of ray-finned fish from the Eocene period. It is wastebasket taxon, although many fossils from Jurassic or Cretaceous are assigned to this genus, only Eocene species, P. apodus is valid. As its name suggests, it is the type genus of Pycnodontiformes.
Ceratoichthys is an extinct genus of lookdown-like prehistoric jackfish that lived during the late Ypresian epoch, of the Early Eocene. It contains a single species, C. pinnatiformis of Monte Bolca, Italy. It and Vomeropsis are the only known members of the extinct subfamily Vomeropsinae.
Eoplectus is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine tetraodontiform fish that lived during the Eocene. It contains a single species, E. bloti from the Early Eocene-aged Monte Bolca site of Italy. It is the only member of the family Eoplectidae. It closely resembled pufferfishes and porcupinefishes, which it was related to.
Eoaulostomus is an extinct genus of marine ray-finned fish, closely related to the modern trumpetfish, that lived during the Eocene. It contains two species, E. bolcensis(de Blainville, 1818) and E. gracilisBlot, 1981, both known from the Early Eocene-aged Monte Bolca site of Italy.
Calamostoma is an extinct relative of the ghost pipefish that lived during the early Eocene. It contains a single species, C. lesiniforme from the famous Monte Bolca site of Italy. It is one of the few known fossil ghost pipefishes. Calamostoma and the other Bolca solenostomid, Solenorhynchus, are both placed in the extinct subfamily Solenorhynchinae.
Aulorhamphus is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish that lived from the early to middle Eocene. It contains four species known from the Early Eocene of Italy and the Middle Eocene of Russia. It was an aulorhamphid, an extinct family of syngnathiform fishes.
Eoholocentrum is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish that lived during the early Eocene. It contains a single species, E. macrocephalum, known from the Early Eocene of Monte Bolca, Italy. It resembled and was closely related to modern squirrelfishes and soldierfishes, and appears to have been more closely related to squirrelfishes. It can be considered a basal or stem member of the Holocentrinae.
Bolcyrus is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine eel that lived during the Early Eocene. It was a member of the family Congridae, which also contains modern conger eels.
Eoanguilla is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine eel that lived during the early Eocene. It contains a single species, E. leptoptera from the Ypresian-aged Monte Bolca site of Italy. It is thought to have been an early marine relative of the modern freshwater eels.
Eolactoria is an extinct genus of highly unusual prehistoric boxfish from the Eocene. It contains a single species, E. sorbinii from the Ypresian-aged Monte Bolca site in Italy.
Platinx is an extinct genus of marine ray-finned fish that inhabited the northern Tethys Ocean during the early to middle Eocene. It was the last surviving member of the ancient order Crossognathiformes, which was a dominant and successful group throughout the preceding Mesozoic era.
The Platyrhinidae are a family of rays, commonly known as thornbacks due to their dorsal rows of large thorns. They resemble guitarfishes in shape. Though traditionally classified with stingrays, molecular evidence suggests they are more closely related to electric rays in the order Torpediniformes.
Cyclopoma is an extinct genus of marine percomorph fish from the Eocene. It is known from the Ypresian to the Lutetian of Europe and eastern North America.
Eogaleus is an extinct genus of requiem shark from the Eocene epoch. It contains a single species, E. bolcensis. It is known from multiple articulated individuals from the Bolca Konservat−Lagerstätte of the Ypresian of Italy. It was a shallow water species.
Lessiniabatis is an extinct genus of highly unusual stingray from the Early Eocene of Italy. It contains a single species, L. aenigmatica. It is known from three specimens, one nearly complete, from the famous Monte Bolca lagerstätte.
The Eocene-aged Monte Bolca fossil site near Verona, Italy was one of the first lagerstatte to be discovered to science, and still has one of the most prominent vertebrate faunas of all Cenozoic lagerstatte. It has the highest fish diversity of all known Cenozoic fossil sites, with many fossils having extremely detailed preservation. In addition, a very high diversity of marine invertebrates & land plants and a small number of land vertebrates are also known.
Seriola prisca is an extinct species of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish from the Eocene. Complete fossil specimens are known from the famous Early Eocene-aged Monte Bolca site of Italy.
Galeorhinus cuvieri is an extinct species of houndshark known from the Early Eocene-aged Monte Bolca site of Italy. It was a close relative of the modern tope or school shark, which it is highly morphologically similar to.
