Eotetraodon
Eotetraodon Temporal range:
| |
---|---|
![]() | |
Reconstruction of E. pygmaeus | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Tetraodontiformes |
Family: | Tetraodontidae |
Genus: | †Eotetraodon Tyler, 1980 |
Type species | |
†Tetraodon pygmaeus de Zigno, 1887
| |
Species | |
|
Eotetraodon ("dawn Tetraodon") is an extinct genus of miniature prehistoric pufferfish that lived in Europe from the early to mid-late Eocene. It is the earliest pufferfish known from fossil remains.[1][2]
The following species are known:
- †E. gornylutshensis Bannikov & Tyler, 2008 - mid-late Eocene (Bartonian) of the North Caucasus, Russia (Kuma Formation)[3]
- †E. pygmaeus (de Zigno, 1887) (type species) - early Eocene of Italy (Monte Bolca lagerstatten)[4]
- †E. tavernei Tyler & Bannikov, 2012 - early Eocene of Italy (Monte Bolca lagerstatten)[5]
As the name of the type species suggests, Eotetraodon was a very small fish that (depending on the species) reached only 17.5 to 20.1 millimetres (0.69 to 0.79 in). Despite this very small size, fossil specimens are fully ossified, suggesting that they are of adult individuals.[3]
Although generally considered an early pufferfish, some recent studies have placed it as part of an evolutionary grade, containing several other Bolca tetraodontiforms, leading to the threetooth puffer (Triodon), a different tetraodontiform fish.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 363: 1–560. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
- ^ "PBDB Taxon". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 2025-02-14.
- ^ a b Bannikov, A. F.; Tyler, J. C. (2008). "A new species of the pufferfish Eotetraodon (Tetraodontiformes, Tetraodontidae) from the Eocene of the Northern Caucasus". Paleontological Journal. 42 (5): 526–530. Bibcode:2008PalJ...42..526B. doi:10.1134/S0031030108050080. S2CID 84830626.
- ^ Geology, British Museum (Natural History) Department of; Woodward, Arthur Smith (1901). Catalogue of the Fossil Fishes in the British Museum (Natural History): Actinopterygian Teleostomi of the suborders Isospondyli (in part), Ostariophysi, Apodes, Percesoces, Hemibranchii, Acanthopterygii, and Anacanthini. order of the Trustees.
- ^ Tyler, James C.; Bannikov, Alexandre F. (2012). "A NEW SPECIES OF PUFFER FISH, EOTETRAODON TAVERNEI, FROM THE EOCENE OF MONTE BOLCA, ITALY (TETRAODONTIDAE, TETRAODONTIFORMES)". Studi e Ricerche sui Giacimenti Terziari di Bolca (XIV).
- ^ Ridolfi, Lorenzo; Marramà, Giuseppe; Tyler, James; Carnevale, Giorgio (2025-01-31). "A NEW FOSSIL CLARIFIES THE ANATOMY AND PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIPS OF THE EOCENE GYMNODONT FISH †ZIGNOICHTHYS OBLONGUS (ZIGNO, 1874)". RIVISTA ITALIANA DI PALEONTOLOGIA E STRATIGRAFIA. 131 (1). doi:10.54103/2039-4942/23409. ISSN 2039-4942.