Enchodontoidei

Enchodontoidei
Temporal range: Barremian–Early Eocene
Specimen of Eurypholis boissieri (Enchodontidae)
Specimen of Dercetis serpentinus (Dercetidae)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Aulopiformes
Suborder: †Enchodontoidei
Berg, 1937
Families

See text

The Enchodontoidei are an extinct superorder of aulopiform fish known from the Early Cretaceous to the Eocene.[1] They were among the dominant predatory marine fish groups in the Late Cretaceous, achieving a worldwide distribution. They were an extremely diverse group, with some developing fusiform body plans whereas others evolved elongated body plans with long beaks, superficially similar to eels and needlefish.[2] They could also grow to very large sizes, as seen with Cimolichthys and Stratodus, the latter of which is the largest aulopiform known. Their most famous member is the widespread, abundant, and long-lasting genus Enchodus.

Most enchodontoids went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous, although some dercetids survived into the Early Paleocene and Stratodus into the Early Eocene of the Trans-Saharan seaway.[3][4] Some remains of Enchodus have also been recovered from the Paleocene and Eocene, although this may just represent reworked material.[5][6][7]

  1. ^ "PBDB". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  2. ^ Silva, Hilda M. A; Gallo, Valéria (June 2011). "Taxonomic review and phylogenetic analysis of Enchodontoidei (Teleostei: Aulopiformes)". Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências. 83 (2): 483–511. doi:10.1590/S0001-37652011000200010. PMID 21670874.
  3. ^ Chida, Mori; Brinkman, Donald B.; Murray, Alison M. (October 2023). "A large, new dercetid fish (Teleostei: Aulopiformes) from the Campanian Bearpaw Formation of Alberta, Canada". Cretaceous Research. 150: 105579. Bibcode:2023CrRes.15005579C. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2023.105579. S2CID 258803963.
  4. ^ O'leary, Maureen A.; Bouaré, Mamadou L.; Claeson, Kerin M.; Heilbronn, Kelly; Hill, Robert V.; Mccartney, Jacob; Sessa, Jocelyn A.; Sissoko, Famory; Tapanila, Leif; Wheeler, Elisabeth; Roberts, Eric M. (28 June 2019). "Stratigraphy and Paleobiology of the Upper Cretaceous-Lower Paleogene Sediments from the Trans-Saharan Seaway in Mali". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 2019 (436): 1. doi:10.1206/0003-0090.436.1.1. S2CID 198398386.
  5. ^ Fielitz, Christopher; González-Rodríguez, Katia A. (2010). "A New Species of Enchodus (aulopiformes: Enchodontidae) from the Cretaceous (albian to Cenomanian) of Zimapán, Hidalgo, México". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 30 (5): 1343–1351. Bibcode:2010JVPal..30.1343F. doi:10.1080/02724634.2010.501438. JSTOR 40864352. S2CID 84281080.
  6. ^ Rana, R. S.; Kumar, K.; Singh, H.; Rose, K. D. (2005). "Lower vertebrates from the Late Palaeocene–Earliest Eocene Akli Formation, Giral Lignite Mine, Barmer District, western India". Current Science. 89 (9): 1606–1613. JSTOR 24110948. OCLC 9979790250.
  7. ^ Davis, Matthew P.; Fielitz, Christopher (December 2010). "Estimating divergence times of lizardfishes and their allies (Euteleostei: Aulopiformes) and the timing of deep-sea adaptations". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 57 (3): 1194–1208. Bibcode:2010MolPE..57.1194D. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.09.003. PMID 20854916.