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

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 ...

known from the late

Paleozoic The Paleozoic ( , , ; or Palaeozoic) Era is the first of three Era (geology), geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma a ...

. The genus ''

sensu stricto ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular c ...

'' contains three species known from the latest

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a Geologic time scale, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the ...

to the earliest

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years, from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.902 Mya. It is the s ...

of freshwater ecosystems of Europe, but as a former

wastebasket taxon Wastebasket taxon (also called a wastebin taxon, dustbin taxon or catch-all taxon) is a term used by some taxonomists to refer to a taxon that has the purpose of classifying organisms that do not fit anywhere else. They are typically defined by e ...

, it contains many more dubiously-classified species from the Carboniferous and Permian of Europe, Greenland, South Africa, and North America.

Species

The following are species within ''Elonichthys sensu stricto'': * †''E. germari'' Giebel, 1848 (

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

) - Late Carboniferous (

Gzhelian The Gzhelian ( ) is an age in the ICS geologic time scale or a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is the youngest stage of the Pennsylvanian, the youngest subsystem of the Carboniferous. The Gzhelian lasted from to Ma. It follows the Ka ...

) of Germany ( Siebigerode Formation) * †''E. fritschi'' Friedrich, 1878 - Early Permian (

Asselian In the geologic timescale, the Asselian is the earliest geochronologic age or lowermost chronostratigraphic stage of the Permian. It is a subdivision of the Cisuralian Epoch or Series. The Asselian lasted between and million years ago (Ma ...

) of Germany (

Meisenheim Formation Meisenheim () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde'', and is also its seat. Meisenheim is a state-recognized recreational resort (''Erholungsort'') and it is s ...

) * †''E. krejcii'' (

Fritsch Fritsch is a German surname. Like Fritsche, Fritzsch and Fritzsche, it is a patronymic derived from Friedrich. Notable people with the surname include: * Ahasverus Fritsch (1629–1701), German jurist, poet and hymn writer * Antonin Fritsch (183 ...

, 1895) - Gzhelian of the Czech Republic (

Slaný Formation Slaný (; ) is a town in Kladno District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 17,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone. Administrative division Slaný ...

)

Former species

The following are more dubious species that were formerly classified into this genus. However, the majority have been found to no longer even be members of Elonichthyidae. Elonichthys peltigerus

* †''E. aitkeni''

Traquair Traquair () is a small village and civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish in the Scottish Borders; Counties of Scotland, until 1975 it was in the county of Peeblesshire. The village is situated on the B709 road south of Innerleithen at . H ...

, 1886 - Carboniferous of England (

Culm Measures The Culm Measures are a thick sequence of geological stratum, strata originating during the Carboniferous Period that occur in south-west England, principally in Devon and Cornwall, now known as the Culm Supergroup. Its estimated thickness varies b ...

and

Lancashire Coalfield The Lancashire Coalfield in North West England was an important British Coalfield#Great Britain, coalfield. Its coal seams were formed from the vegetation of tropical swampy forests in the Carboniferous period over 300 million years ago. The Rom ...

) ''→ Mesonichthys aitkeni'' (Traquair, 1886) * †''E. caudalis'' Traquair, 1877 - Middle Carboniferous (

Moscovian Moscovian may refer to: *An inhabitant of Moscow, the capital of Russia *Something of, from, or related to Moscow *Moscovian (Carboniferous) The Moscovian is in the International Commission on Stratigraphy, ICS geologic timescale a stage (strat ...

) of England (Lancashire Coalfield) → not an elonichthyid * †''E. egertoni'' ( Egerton, 1850) - Middle Carboniferous (

Bashkirian The Bashkirian is in the International Commission on Stratigraphy geologic timescale the lowest stage (stratigraphy), stage or oldest age (geology), age of the Pennsylvanian (geology), Pennsylvanian. The Bashkirian age lasted from to Mega annu ...

) of England (Lancashire Coalfield) → not an elonichthyid * †''E. gigas'' Fritsch, 1877 → '' Acrolepis gigas'' (Fritsch, 1877) * †''E. macropterus'' (Bronn, 1829) → '' Rhabdolepis macropterus'' (Bronn, 1829) * †''E. peltigerus''

Newberry Newberry is a surname, a variant of Newbury. Notable people with the surname include: * Booker Newberry III (1956–2023), American singer and keyboardist * Brennan Newberry (born, 1990), American professional stock car racing driver * Brian Ne ...

, 1856 - Moscovian of Illinois and Ohio, United States ( Carbondale Formation and Francis Creek Shale) → not an elonichthyid. A well-known, numerous species in the

Mazon Creek fossil beds The Mazon Creek fossil beds are a conservation ' found near Morris, in Grundy County, Illinois. The fossils are preserved in ironstone concretions, formed approximately in the mid- Pennsylvanian epoch of the Carboniferous period. These concr ...

. * †''E. portlocki'' (Egerton, 1850) -

Tournaisian The Tournaisian is in the ICS geologic timescale the lowest stage or oldest age of the Mississippian, the oldest subsystem of the Carboniferous. The Tournaisian age lasted from Ma to Ma. It is preceded by the Famennian (the uppermost st ...

to Visean of England, including Northern Ireland ( Tyrone Group, Pendleside Limestones) → potentially an indeterminate elonichthyid * †''E. pulcherrimus'' Traquair, 1881 - Early Carboniferous ( Visean) of Scotland ( Glencartholm Volcanic Beds,

Leitrim Group The Leitrim Group is a lithostratigraphical term coined to refer to the succession of rock strata which occur in Northern Ireland within the Visean and Namurian stages of the Carboniferous Period. The group disconformably overlies the Dart ...

) → not an elonichthyid * †''E. robisoni'' (

Hibbert Hibbert is a surname, and may refer to: A * Alex Hibbert (born 1986), English polar expedition leader, motivational speaker, author and photographer * Alex R. Hibbert (born 2004), American actor * Alice Hibbert-Ware (1869–1944), New Zealand-b ...

, 1835) (=''E. bucklandi'' (Agassiz, 1835)) - Visean of Scotland (

Strathclyde Group The Strathclyde Group is a Group (geology), geological group found in the Central Lowlands, Midland Valley of Scotland. It preserves fossils of Visean, the Visean age (early Carboniferous Period (geology), period). See also * List of fossilife ...

) → not an elonichthyid, most likely a kentuckiid * †''E. serratus'' Traquair, 1881 - Visean of Scotland (Glencartholm Volcanic Beds, Leitrim Group) → not an elonichthyid, most likely a palaeoniscid * †''E. semistriatus'' Traquair, 1877 ''→'' Moscovian of England (

) → not an elonichthyid * †''E. striatus'' (

Agassiz Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history. Spending his early life in Switzerland, he recei ...

, 1835) ''→ Cosmoptychius striatus'' (Agassiz, 1835) The following other dubious species are also known:

References

Prehistoric ray-finned fish genera Pennsylvanian ray-finned fish of Europe Cisuralian ray-finned fish of Europe Pennsylvanian genus first appearances Gzhelian genera Asselian life Cisuralian genus extinctions Fossils of Germany Fossils of the Czech Republic {{paleo-rayfinned-fish-stub Fossil taxa described in 1848