''Aethalionopsis'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric freshwater

bony fish Osteichthyes ( ; ), also known as osteichthyans or commonly referred to as the bony fish, is a Biodiversity, diverse clade of vertebrate animals that have endoskeletons primarily composed of bone tissue. They can be contrasted with the Chondricht ...

from the

Early Cretaceous The Early Cretaceous (geochronology, geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphy, chronostratigraphic name) is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 143.1 ...

(

Barremian The Barremian is an age in the geologic timescale (or a chronostratigraphic stage) between 125.77 Ma (million years ago) and 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma (Historically, this stage was placed at 129.4 million to approximately 125 million years ago) It is a ...

to early

Aptian The Aptian is an age (geology), age in the geologic timescale or a stage (stratigraphy), stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous, Early or Lower Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), S ...

, with possible earlier or later occurrences) of western Europe. Formerly classified as a species of the elopiform '' Anaethalion'', it is now known to be a relative of the modern

milkfish The milkfish (''Chanos chanos'') is a widespread species of ray-finned fish found throughout the Indo-Pacific. It is the sole living species in the family Chanidae, and the only living member of the genus ''Chanos''. The repeating scientific na ...

(''Chanos'') in order

Gonorhynchiformes The Gonorynchiformes are an order of ray-finned fish that includes the important food source, the milkfish (''Chanos chanos'', family Chanidae), and a number of lesser-known types, both marine and freshwater. The alternate spelling "Gonorhync ...

. It was previously placed as a basal member of the suborder Chanoidei, but is now more often placed as a basal member of the subfamily Chaninae of the family

Chanidae Chanidae is a family of fishes which has a number of fossil genera and one monotypic extant genus which contains the milkfish (''Chanos chanos''). Taxonomy The family Chanidae is subdivided into two subfamilies, Rubiesichthyinae and Chaninae. ...

, placing it closer to the extant ''Chanos''. Only a single species is presently accepted, ''A. robustus'' from the famous ''

Iguanodon ''Iguanodon'' ( ; meaning 'iguana-tooth'), named in 1825, is a genus of iguanodontian dinosaur. While many species found worldwide have been classified in the genus ''Iguanodon'', dating from the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous, Taxonomy (bi ...

'' dinosaur locality of the

Sainte-Barbe Clays Formation The Sainte-Barbe Clays Formation is a geological formation in Belgium. It is found in localised areas of the northern margin of the Mons Basin, alongside the equivalently aged Hautrage and Baudour Clay Formations. It is Upper Barremian-Lower Aptia ...

Bernissart Bernissart (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On January 1, 2024, Bernissart had a total population of 11,878. The total area is 43.81 km2, which gives a population density of 271 inhabitants p ...

, Belgium. However, potential localities are also known from the

Berriasian In the geological timescale, the Berriasian is an age/ stage of the Early/Lower Cretaceous. It is the oldest subdivision in the entire Cretaceous. It has been taken to span the time between 143.1 ±0.6 Ma and 137.05 ± 0.2 (million years ago) ...

Hauterivian The Hauterivian is, in the geologic timescale, an age in the Early Cretaceous Epoch or a stage in the Lower Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 132.6 ± 2 Ma and 125.77 (million years ago). The Hauterivian is preceded by the Valangi ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

, England (classified in the genus ''Anaethalion'' as ''A. valdensis''), and the Aptian-

Albian The Albian is both an age (geology), age of the geologic timescale and a stage (stratigraphy), stage in the stratigraphic column. It is the youngest or uppermost subdivision of the Early Cretaceous, Early/Lower Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch/s ...

of southern Italy (possibly an undescribed species). However, more recent studies have only accepted and commented on ''A. robustus'', with no mention of these other occurrences.

References

Monotypic prehistoric ray-finned fish genera Chanidae Fossils of Belgium Early Cretaceous fish of Europe Fossil taxa described in 1966 {{paleo-rayfinned-fish-stub

See also

References