''Blochius'' is an extinct genus of

billfish The billfish are a group (Xiphioidea) of saltwater fish, saltwater predatory fish characterised by prominent pointed beak, bills (rostrum (anatomy), rostra), and by their large size; some are longer than . Extant billfish include sailfish and m ...

from the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

. It is only known from the

Monte Bolca Monte Bolca is an Ypresian, Early Eocene-aged geologic site located near Verona, Italy, Verona, Italy. A ''Konservat-Lagerstätte'', it contains an extremely well-preserved and diverse marine biota, including the most diverse fish fauna of any Ce ...

deposits in Italy, and was likely restricted to shallow, tropical waters of the

Tethys Ocean The Tethys Ocean ( ; ), also called the Tethys Sea or the Neo-Tethys, was a prehistoric ocean during much of the Mesozoic Era and early-mid Cenozoic Era. It was the predecessor to the modern Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Eurasia ...

Discovery

The existence of ''Blochius'' was known as early as 1709, where it is mentioned in a written account by

Johann Jakob Scheuchzer Johann Jakob Scheuchzer (2 August 1672 – 23 June 1733) was a Swiss physician and natural scientist born in Zürich. His most famous work was the ''Physica sacra'' in four volumes, which was a commentary on the Bible and included his view of ...

, who identified a fragment of a ''Blochius'' skeleton and identified it as being either related to the ''Xiphias'' (swordfish) or '' Siluro'' (

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...

). It was not until the advent of Linnean taxonomy that it properly received a scientific name by

Giovanni Serafino Volta Giovanni Serafino Volta (1764–1842) was an Italian priest, naturalist, and palaeontologist, best known for his studies of fossil fish from Monte Bolca. Volta was an ''Abate'' (or abbot) and theologian. He was a Canon of the Imperial Basilica i ...

, who named ''Blochius'' in 1796 after pioneering ichthyologist

Marcus Elieser Bloch Marcus Elieser Bloch (1723–1799) was a German physician and naturalist who is best known for his contribution to ichthyology through his multi-volume catalog of plates illustrating the fishes of the world. Brought up in a Hebrew-speaking Jewish ...

Taxonomy

It is one of two known definite genera in the family Blochiidae, alongside '' Loancorhynchus'' from earlier in the Eocene of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. The indeterminate remains of a ''Blochius''-like fish are known from the

Late Paleocene The Thanetian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy, ICS Geologic timescale, the latest age (geology), age or uppermost stage (stratigraphy), stratigraphic stage of the Paleocene epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), Serie ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. Indeterminate blochiid remains are also known from the middle Eocene of Uzbekistan, and from the latest Paleocene/earliest Eocene

Danata Formation The Danata Formation (or Danatinskaya, Danatinsk, Russian: Danata Svita) is an Ypresian, earliest Eocene to Middle Eocene sedimentary succession located in Turkmenistan. It is mostly famous for its fish-bearing horizons (Ichthyofauna). The formati ...

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

. Other potential blochiids such as '' Acestrus'', '' Aglyptorhynchus'', '' Hemirhabdorhynchus'', '' Cylindracanthus'' and '' Congorhynchus'' are based on highly fragmentary remains and it is thus uncertain if they are blochiids, or even billfish for the last two. Some authorities have found the Blochiidae to be basal billfish not closely related to any extant groups, whereas others find them to be more closely related to swordfish (

Xiphiidae The swordfish (''Xiphias gladius''), also known as the broadbill in some countries, are large, highly migratory predatory fish characterized by a long, flat, pointed bill. They are the sole member of the Family (biology), family Xiphiidae. They ...

) than to marlins &

sailfish The sailfish is one or two species of marine fish in the genus ''Istiophorus'', which belong to the family Istiophoridae ( marlins). They are predominantly blue to gray in colour and have a characteristically large dorsal fin known as the ...

(

Istiophoridae Marlins are fish from the family Istiophoridae, which includes between 9 and 11 species, depending on the taxonomic authority. Name The family's common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular n ...

). The following species are known, all from Italy: *''Blochius longirostris'' Volta, 1796 * ''Blochius macropterus'' de Zigno, 1887 * ''Blochius moorheadi'' Eastman, 1911 (

nomen dubium In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application. Zoology In case of a ''nomen dubium,'' it may be impossible to determine whether a ...

)

Description

''Blochius'' had a very slender elongated body, a narrow head with elongated upper and lower jaws and large eyes. Much like its modern relatives such as

swordfish The swordfish (''Xiphias gladius''), also known as the broadbill in some countries, are large, highly migratory predatory fish characterized by a long, flat, pointed bill. They are the sole member of the Family (biology), family Xiphiidae. They ...

, it had an elongated rostrum. Although generally small in size at around 2 feet in length, it could reach a maximum length of . The rostrum generally comprised 40% of the body length. It likely hunted in a manner similar to modern

needlefish Needlefish (family Belonidae) or long toms are piscivorous fishes primarily associated with very shallow marine habitats or the surface of the open sea. Some genera include species found in marine, brackish, and freshwater environments (e.g., ...

Bibliography

* G. S. Volta, ''Ittiolitologia Veronese del museo Bozziano ora annesso a quello del conte Giovambattista Gazola e di altri gabinetti fossili veronesi con la versione latina'', Stamperia Guiliari, Verona, 1796–1808, 323 pp. * C. R. Eastman, ''Catalog of fishes in the Carnegie Museum. Part 1. Fishes from the Upper Eocene of monte Bolca. Mem. Carnegie Mus.'', Pittsburgh 4, 1911. pp. 349–391. * W. Landini e L. Sorbini. 1996. ''Ecological and trophic relationships of Eocene monte Bolca (Pesciara) fish fauna'', pp 105–112 in A. Cherchi, ed. Autoecology of selected fossil organisms: achievements and problems. Boll. soc. Paleo. Italiana spec 3. * H. L. Fierstine e K. A. Monsch. 2002. ''Redescription and phylogenetic relationships of the Family Blochiidae (Perciformes: Scombroidei), middle Eocene, monte Bolca, Italy''. Miscellanea Paleontologica, studi e ricerche sui giacimenti terziari di Bolca, mus. civico storia nat. Verona 9: 121–163. * H. L. Fierstine, 2006. ''Fossil history of billfishes (Xiphioidei)''. Bull. Mar. Sci., 79(3): 433–453.

References

''Blochius''
Paleobiology Database * Harry L. Fierstine: ''Fossil History of Billfishes (Xiphioidei).'' Bulletin of Marine Science, Volume 79, Issue 3, January 2006, Seiten 433-45
Abstract
* Karl Albert Frickhinger: ''Fossilien Atlas Fische'', Mergus-Verlag, Melle, 1999,

† A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species or languages). It is one of the mo ...

Prehistoric percomorph genera Eocene fish of Europe Fossils of Italy Ypresian genera Fossil taxa described in 1800 {{Carangiformes-stub