''Cryptobalistes'' is an extinct genus of
triplespine that lived during the early
Oligocene
The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that defin ...
epoch. It contains a single species, ''C. brevis'' that inhabited the seas around what is now
Canton Glarus,
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. Fossils are known from the
Matt Formation. It is thought to be closely allied with another triplespine from Glarus, ''
Acanthopleurus''. ''Cryptobalistes, Acanthopleurus'', and ''
Protacanthodes'' are thought to be basal members of the Triacanthidae.
See also
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Prehistoric fish
__NOTOC__
Prehistoric fish are early fish that are known only from fossil records. They are the earliest known vertebrates, and include the first and extinct fish that lived through the Cambrian to the Quaternary. The study of prehistoric fish is ...
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List of prehistoric bony fish
This list of prehistoric bony fish is an attempt to create a comprehensive listing of all Genus, genera from the fossil record that have ever been considered to be bony fish (class Osteichthyes), excluding purely vernacular terms. The list includ ...
References
†
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
Monotypic prehistoric ray-finned fish genera
Oligocene fish of Europe
Rupelian genera
Fossils of Switzerland
Fossil taxa described in 1968
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