Tanaocrossus

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Tanaocrossus
Temporal range: Carnian–Rhaetian
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scanilepiformes
Genus: Tanaocrossus
Schaeffer, 1967
Species:
T. kalliokoskii
Binomial name
Tanaocrossus kalliokoskii
Schaeffer, 1967

Tanaocrossus (Ancient Greek for "outstretched fringe", referring to its distinctive dorsal fin) is an extinct genus of primitive freshwater ray-finned fish that inhabited southwestern and eastern North America during the Late Triassic period. It contains a single known species, T. kalliokoskii, known from the United States, with indeterminate species also known. [1] [2]

It is primarily known from the Norian to Rhaetian of the Chinle Formation of Colorado and Utah. [3] [4] [5] Indeterminate remains are known from the Dockum Group of Texas and New Mexico (Bull Canyon Formation). [3] [6] A single fragmentary but distinctive fossilized fin from the earlier Carnian-aged Doswell Formation of Virginia, which shares the genus's distinctive fin rays, was long the only record from the eastern United States, but a partial specimen was also later identified from the Manassas Sandstone. [4] [6] [7]

Morphologically, it can be easily distinguished from other co-occurring fishes by its highly elongated dorsal fin that stretches across its body. Its taxonomic affiliations have long been enigmatic since its description due to its unusual morphology. [2] [7] [4] More recent studies have found it to be a scanilepiform, an enigmatic order of fish which were later found to most likely be basal cladistians, which would make it a distant relative of modern bichirs. [8] [9] A 2008 study questioned this assignment and instead reclassified it to the Perleidiformes, but this has been disputed by later studies. [10] [8] [11]

It was likely a slow-moving fish that inhabited quiet waters, with its dorsal fin allowing for undulation while swimming. [2]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Chinlea</i> Extinct genus of coelacanths

Chinlea is an extinct genus of late Triassic Mawsoniid coelacanth fish found in and named after the Chinle Formation that crops out in the southwestern states of Arizona and New Mexico. The word “Chinle” comes from the Navajo word meaning "flowing out", referencing the location where water flows out of the Canyon de Chelly. They were also possibly found in the Dockum Group.

<i>Birgeria</i> Extinct genus of fishes

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<i>Atopocephala</i> Extinct genus of fishes

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<i>Pteronisculus</i> Extinct genus of ray-finned fishes

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<i>Asialepidotus</i> Extinct genus of fishes

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<i>Ctenognathichthys</i> Extinct genus of fishes

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<i>Cyranorhis</i> Extinct genus of fishes

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<i>Dandya ovalis</i> Extinct genus of ray-finned fishes

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<i>Hemicalypterus</i> Extinct genus of ray-finned fishes

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cladistia</span> Clade of ray-finned fishes

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Beishanichthys is an extinct genus of freshwater ray-finned fish which existed in Gansu Province, China during the Olenekian age of the early Triassic period. It contains a single species, B. brevicaudalis, first named by Guang-Hui Xu, Ke-Qin Gao in 2011 based on fossils from the Lower Triassic lake deposits exposed in Beishan area. It is considered a scanilepiform, a group of early cladistians related to the modern bichirs, although Beishanichthys was not incorporated into the analyses that found this phylogenetic placement among the cladistians.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redfieldiiformes</span> Extinct order of ray-finned fishes

Redfieldiiformes is an extinct order of ray-finned fish (actinopterygians) which lived from the Early Triassic to Early Jurassic. Redfieldiiforms were fairly typical Triassic fish in overall anatomy. They had a fusiform body shape with thick, ganoine-covered scales. The dorsal and anal fins were large, positioned opposite from each other, and shifted back, close to the tail. The caudal fin was hemiheterocercal, with the vertebral column and body scales extending into an upper lobe equal in size and shape to the lower lobe. They also had several characteristic skeletal traits, such as a hatchet-shaped preopercle, a series of fulcra fringing the fins, a reduced number of branchiostegal rays, and a snout ornamented with tubercles.

Turseodus is an extinct genus of ray-finned fish found in Late Triassic freshwater sediments of the United States. Two species have been described, T. acutus from the Lockatong Formation of Pennsylvania, and T. dolorensis from the Chinle Formation of Colorado.

Cionichthys is an extinct genus of freshwater ray-finned fish that inhabited southwestern and eastern North America during the Late Triassic period. It was a member of the Redfieldiiformes, an order of fishes widespread throughout freshwater habitats at this time, especially in North America.

References

  1. "PBDB Taxon". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  2. 1 2 3 Schaeffer, Bobb (1967). "Late Triassic fishes from the western United States". Bulletin of the AMNH. 135 (6).
  3. 1 2 Heckert, Andrew B.; Lucas, Spencer G. (2005). Vertebrate Paleontology in Arizona: Bulletin 29. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.
  4. 1 2 3 Schaeffer, Bobb; McDonald, Nicholas G. (1978). "Redfieldiid fishes from the Triassic-Liassic Newark Supergroup of eastern North America. Bulletin of the AMNH ; v. 159, article 4". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 159 (4): 131–173.
  5. Gibson, Sarah Z. (2016-09-22). Schubert, Michael (ed.). "Redescription and Phylogenetic Placement of †Hemicalypterus weiri Schaeffer, 1967 (Actinopterygii, Neopterygii) from the Triassic Chinle Formation, Southwestern United States: New Insights into Morphology, Ecological Niche, and Phylogeny". PLOS ONE. 11 (9): e0163657. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0163657 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   5033578 . PMID   27657923.
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  7. 1 2 Weems, Robert E. (2018). "A SYNOPSIS OF THE VERTEBRATE FAUNA FROM THE CULPEPER BASIN (UPPER TRIASSIC-LOWER JURASSIC, MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA)" (PDF). New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 79.
  8. 1 2 Xu, Guang-Hui; Gao, Ke-Qin (2011). "A new scanilepiform from the Lower Triassic of northern Gansu Province, China, and phylogenetic relationships of non-teleostean Actinopterygii: EARLY TRIASSIC SCANILEPIFORM FROM CHINA". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 161 (3): 595–612. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2010.00645.x.
  9. Giles, Sam; Xu, Guang-Hui; Near, Thomas J.; Friedman, Matt (2017). "Early members of 'living fossil' lineage imply later origin of modern ray-finned fishes". Nature. 549 (7671): 265–268. doi:10.1038/nature23654. ISSN   1476-4687.
  10. Milner, Andrew; Spears, Sarah; Olsen, Paul (2008). "NEW SPECIMENS OF TANAOCROSSUS (ACTINOPTERYGII, PERLEIDIFORMES) FROM THE LATE TRIASSIC CHINLE FORMATION OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES" (PDF). Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.
  11. Xu, Guang-Hui; Gao, Ke-Qin; Finarelli, John A. (2014-06-07). "A revision of the Middle Triassic scanilepiform fish Fukangichthys longidorsalis from Xinjiang, China, with comments on the phylogeny of the Actinopteri". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 34 (4): 747–759. doi:10.1080/02724634.2014.837053. ISSN   0272-4634.