Cockerellites Temporal range: Early Eocene,
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Specimen of C. liops from the 18 inch layer of the Green River Formation, Wyoming | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Moroniformes |
Family: | Moronidae |
Genus: | †Cockerellites Jordan & Hanibal, 1923 |
Type species | |
†Cockerellites liops (Cope, 1877)
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Synonyms | |
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Cockerellites is a genus of extinct temperate bass[1] described from early Eocene-aged fossils found in the Green River Formation of Wyoming.[2][3] It is characterized by a sunfish-like body and its stout dorsal and anal spines. The type species, C. liops, was originally named as a species of Priscacara by Edward Drinker Cope upon creating the genus in 1877,[4] but P. liops was moved to the newly created genus Cockerellites by D. Jordan and H. Hanibal in 1923.[5] Some authors, such as Whitlock (2010), still consider Cockerellites liops as a species of Priscacara.[1]
C. liops is based on the holotype USNM 4044, [6] and it was placed in Priscacara as P. liops but is now considered a separate genus.[7] C. liops was originally seen as the most common species of Priscacara within the Green River lacustrine deposits, and at specific locations, it outnumbers P. serrata by over 3:1. The two species differ in the number of dorsal and anal fin rays, as well as possibly a coarser serrated rear edge of the preopercle in P. serrata. C. liops also has small conical teeth on the pharyngeal jaw, whereas P. serrata has large grinding tooth plates, suggesting a diet of snails and crustaceans.[8]