Australosomus

Australosomus
Temporal range: Early Triassic[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: †Pholidopleuriformes
Family: †Pholidopleuridae
Genus: †Australosomus
Pivetau, 1930
Type species
†Pristisomus merlei
Priem, 1924
Species[2]

See text

Australosomus (meaning "southern body") is an extinct genus of prehistoric ray-finned fish that lived during the Early Triassic epoch in what is now Greenland, Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar, South Africa and Canada (British Columbia).[3][4][1]

Australosomus merlei fossil

The type species, Australosomus merlei from Madagascar, was first described as Pristisomus merlei by Ferdinand Priem. A new genus, Australosomus, was later erected for this species by Jean Piveteau.[5]

Australosomus is one of many genera to arise after the Permian-Triassic extinction event, only to die out during the Early Triassic,[4] possibly during a subsequent extinction event.[3]

Most species were marine, except for the African species, which were found in freshwater deposits.

The genus name Australosomus ("southern body") is inaccurate, as Australosomus is known as far north as Canada and Greenland, although the first known remains were described from Madagascar.

  1. ^ a b Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
  2. ^ "Part 7- Vertebrates". Collection of genus-group names in a systematic arrangement. Archived from the original on 2016-10-05. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  3. ^ a b Ludvigsen, Rolf & Beard, Graham. 1997. West Coast Fossils: A Guide to the Ancient Life of Vancouver Island. pg. 78-79
  4. ^ a b Romano, Carlo; Koot, Martha B.; Kogan, Ilja; Brayard, Arnaud; Minikh, Alla V.; Brinkmann, Winand; Bucher, Hugo; Kriwet, Jürgen (2016). "Permian-Triassic Osteichthyes (bony fishes): diversity dynamics and body size evolution". Biological Reviews. 91 (1): 106–147. doi:10.1111/brv.12161. PMID 25431138. S2CID 5332637.
  5. ^ Piveteau, Jean (1930). "Particularités structurales d'un type nouveau de poisson fossile des formations permo-triasiques du nord de Madagascar". Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de l'Académie des Sciences (in French). 191: 456–458.