''Bregmacerina'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

, most likely a

codlet Codlets are a family, Bregmacerotidae, of cod-like fishes, containing the single genus ''Bregmaceros'' found in tropical and subtropical waters throughout the world. They are very small fishes and even the largest, ''B. lanceolatus'', reaches onl ...

, that lived during the early part of the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

epoch. It contains a single species, ''B. antiqua'', from the

Burdigalian The Burdigalian is, in the geologic timescale, an age (geology), age or stage (stratigraphy), stage in the early Miocene. It spans the time between 20.43 ± 0.05 annum, Ma and 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma (million years ago). Preceded by the Aquitanian (sta ...

Sakaraul Horizon Formation of

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...

, Russia. ''Bregmacerina'' inhabited the

Paratethys Sea The Paratethys sea, Paratethys ocean, Paratethys realm or just Paratethys (meaning "beside Tethys"), was a large shallow inland sea that covered much of mainland Europe and parts of western Asia during the middle to late Cenozoic, from the lat ...

. There is some dispute as to whether it is a codlet, as while it shares traits with '' Bregmaceros'' in the reduction of the first dorsal fin, it differs in having undivided second dorsal and anal fins. However, an alternative taxonomic placement has not been suggested.

References

{{paleo-rayfinned-fish-stub Bregmacerotidae Monotypic prehistoric ray-finned fish genera Miocene fish of Europe Burdigalian genera Fossils of Russia Fossil taxa described in 1957

See also

References