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Vidalamiinae
The Amiidae are a family of basal (phylogenetics), basal ray-finned fishes. The bowfin and the eyespot bowfin (''Amia ocellicauda'') are the only two species to survive today, although additional species in all four subfamilies of Amiidae are known from Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Eocene fossils. Bowfins are now found throughout eastern North America, typically in slow-moving backwaters, canals, and ox-bow lakes. When the oxygen level is low (as often happens in still waters), the bowfin can rise to the surface and gulp air into its swim bladder, which is lined with blood vessels and can serve as a primitive lung. Amiidae is a monophyletic group that has numerous synapomorphic characters. Amiidae were widespread and particularly rich in species during the Eocene era. During this era, they appeared to be confined almost exclusively to fresh water. Taxonomy The family is divided into five subfamilies, with 16 genera *Amiidae **Subfamily Amiinae (latest Cretaceous -Present) ***Genu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maliamia
''Maliamia'' ("Malian bowfin") is an extinct genus of Amiidae, amiid ray-finned fish from the Early Eocene, known from fragmentary remains found in the Tamaguélelt Formation of Mali. It was described in 1989, based on fossils recovered by three separate expeditions in 1975, 1979–80, and 1981. The type species is ''Maliamia gigas,'' named in reference to its large size. ''Maliamia'' is currently the youngest known member of Vidalamiinae, an extinct group of bowfin fish that lived from the Early Cretaceous to the Early Eocene. Description ''Maliamia gigas'' is known from isolated jaw remains including premaxillae, vomers, maxillae, and dentaries. These fragments lack teeth due to post-mortem wear, but empty tooth sockets remain, and their arrangement implies that ''M. gigas'' had a single row of teeth. Estimates put the body length of ''M. gigas'' between 1.8 (based on ''Calamopleurus'') and 3.5 meters (based on ''Amia (fish), Amia''), making it the largest known member of Vi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amia (fish)
''Amia'', commonly called bowfin, is a genus of Actinopterygii, ray-finned fish related to gars in the infraclass Holostei. They are regarded as taxonomy (biology), taxonomic relict species, relicts, being the sole surviving species of the order (biology), order Amiiformes and clade Halecomorphi, which dates from the Triassic to the Eocene, persisting to the present. There are two living species in ''Amia'', ''Amia calva'' and ''Amia ocellicauda'', and a number of extinct species which have been described from the fossil record. Etymology The genus name ''Amia'' derives from the Ancient Greek and Latin name for an unknown fish (most likely the Atlantic bonito) referred to by ancient and medieval authors including Pliny the Elder, Isidore of Seville, and Thomas of Cantimpré. Evolution and phylogeny ''Amia'' is thought to have diverged from its Sister group, sister genus, ''Cyclurus'', during the Late Cretaceous. These two genera, their sister amiine ''Pseudoamiatus'', and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melvius
''Melvius'' is a genus of vidalamiin amiid ray-finned fish from the Late Cretaceous. The type species, ''Melvius thomasi'', was described by Bryant in 1987 from Hell Creek Formation.L. J. Bryant. 1987. A new genus and species of Amiidae (Holostei; Osteichthyes) from the Late Cretaceous of North America, with comments on the phylogeny of the Amiidae. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 7(4):349-361 A second species ''Melvius chauliodous'', was named and described by Hall and Wolburg in 1989 from Kirtland Formation, and it is now considered to be one of the index taxa of the Kirtlandian land-vertebrate age. Description Both species of ''Melvius'' were very large. A vertebral remain of ''M. thomasi'' would have belonged to a fish with standard length (length between tip of snout and the base of the caudal fin) of , and there are some specimens that exceed the height of that vertebra. Total length of this species would be at least . However, ''M. thomasi'' was dwarfed by ''M. cha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calamopleurus
''Calamopleurus'' is a prehistoric genus of marine halecomorph ray-finned fish from the Early Cretaceous of South America and northern Africa. It was a relative of the modern bowfin, with both belonging to the family Amiidae. ''C. cylindricus'' was among the largest known amiids, rivaling the giant Paleocene bowfin '' Amia pattersoni'' in size. However, both were slightly smaller than ''Melvius'' and ''Amia basiloides'', the two largest known amiids. It is one of the earliest known amiids to evolve a large body size. Taxonomy It is thought Calamopleurus is a sister genus to ''Maliamia'', the last surviving member of the vidalamiines, which is the largely marine amiid group that also contained ''Calamopleurus''. Both are placed in the tribe Calamopleurini. The genus contains three species: * †''C. africanus'' Forey & Grande, 1998 - Late Albian/Early Cenomanian of Morocco and Algeria * †''C. cylindricus'' Agassiz, 1841 - Late Aptian/Early Albian of Brazil ( Crato and San ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vidalamiinae
The Amiidae are a family of basal (phylogenetics), basal ray-finned fishes. The bowfin and the eyespot bowfin (''Amia ocellicauda'') are the only two species to survive today, although additional species in all four subfamilies of Amiidae are known from Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Eocene fossils. Bowfins are now found throughout eastern North America, typically in slow-moving backwaters, canals, and ox-bow lakes. When the oxygen level is low (as often happens in still waters), the bowfin can rise to the surface and gulp air into its swim bladder, which is lined with blood vessels and can serve as a primitive lung. Amiidae is a monophyletic group that has numerous synapomorphic characters. Amiidae were widespread and particularly rich in species during the Eocene era. During this era, they appeared to be confined almost exclusively to fresh water. Taxonomy The family is divided into five subfamilies, with 16 genera *Amiidae **Subfamily Amiinae (latest Cretaceous -Present) ***Genu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyclurus
''Cyclurus'' (Ancient Greek for "rounded tail") is an extinct genus of freshwater Amiidae, amiid Actinopterygii, ray-finned fish known from the Late Cretaceous to the Rupelian, Early Oligocene across much of the Northern Hemisphere. It is thought to be the closest relative of the extant Bowfin, bowfins in the genus ''Amia (fish), Amia'', although species of ''Cyclurus'' were significantly smaller in size compared to ''Amia''. Evolution Remains of ''Cyclurus'' are first known from western North America during the Maastrichtian stage of the Cretaceous with the species ''C. fragosus'', with the genus having presumably diverged from ''Amia (fish), Amia'' shortly before. Potential earlier remains are known from the Campanian. Alongside ''Amia'', ''Cyclurus'' survived the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event in a Refugium (population biology), refugium in western North America. Shortly afterwards, it saw a dramatic range expansion over the Pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Incertae Sedis
or is a term used for a taxonomy (biology), taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertainty at specific taxonomic levels is indicated by (of uncertain family), (of uncertain suborder), (of uncertain order) and similar terms. Examples * The fossil plant ''Paradinandra, Paradinandra suecica'' could not be assigned to any family, but was placed ''incertae sedis'' within the order Ericales when described in 2001. * The fossil ''Gluteus minimus (fossil), Gluteus minimus'', described in 1975, could not be assigned to any known animal phylum. The genus is therefore ''incertae sedis'' within the kingdom Animalia. * While it was unclear to which order the New World vultures (family Cathartidae) should be assigned, they were placed in Aves ''incertae sedis''. It was later agreed to place them in a separate order, Cathartiformes. * Boc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
