''Coccodus'' is an extinct genus of marine pycnodontid fish that lived during the

Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the more recent of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''cre ...

. The various species had a pair of massive, curved spines emanating from the lower sides of the head, and one curved spine on the top of its head. Unlike most pycnodontids (which tend to have short, marine

butterflyfish The butterflyfish are a group of conspicuous tropical ocean, marine fish of the family Chaetodontidae; the bannerfish and coralfish are also included in this group. The approximately 129 species in 12 genera are found mostly on the reefs of the ...

-like bodies), ''Coccodus'' species had a comparatively long body, giving the living animals a superficial resemblance to a scaly

chimaera Chimaeras are Chondrichthyes, cartilaginous fish in the order (biology), order Chimaeriformes (), known informally as ghost sharks, rat fish (not to be confused with rattails), spookfish, or rabbit fish; the last two names are also applied to B ...

. ''Coccodus'' is closely related to the similarly spined genera '' Trewavasia, Corusichthys, Paracoccodus'', and '' Hensodon'', which also lived during the

Cenomanian The Cenomanian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy's (ICS) geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age (geology), age of the Late Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or the lowest stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Upper Cretace ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Taxonomy

Two species are known, both from the Cenomanian-aged

Sannine Formation The Sannine Formation, also called the Sannine Limestone, is a Cretaceous geologic formation in Lebanon. It is a Konservat-Lagerstätte that contains a high diversity of well-preserved fish, reptiles, and invertebrates from the Tethys Ocean wit ...

of Lebanon: * †''C. armatus'' Pictet, 1850 - Hakel locality of Sannine Formation * †''C. insignis''

Hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticate ...

, 1903 -

Hjoula Hjoula () is a municipality in the Byblos District of Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate, Lebanon. It is north of Beirut. Hjoula has an elevation of between above sea level. Hjoula has a total land area of . The village of Hjoula is known for its fertil ...

locality of Sannine Formation The species ''Coccodus lindstroemi'' was recently determined to be a species complex, and various specimens assigned to ''C. lindstroemi'' were redescribed as species of the gladiopycnodontid genus '' Joinivillichthys''Taverne, Louis, and Luigi Capasso. "On the “Coccodus” lindstroemi species complex (Pycnodontiformes, Gladiopycnodontidae) from the marine Late Cretaceous of Lebanon, with the description of two new genera." European Journal of Taxonomy 101 (2014).

References

Pycnodontiformes genera Late Cretaceous bony fish Late Cretaceous fish of Asia Cenomanian genera Fossils of Lebanon Fossil taxa described in 1850 Taxa named by François Jules Pictet de la Rive {{Cretaceous-fish-stub

Taxonomy

See also

References