''Meridensia'' is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of prehistoric

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or h ...

that lived during the

Anisian In the geologic timescale, the Anisian is the lower stage or earliest age of the Middle Triassic series or epoch and lasted from million years ago until million years ago. The Anisian Age succeeds the Olenekian Age (part of the Lower Trias ...

and

Ladinian The Ladinian is a stage and age in the Middle Triassic series or epoch. It spans the time between Ma and ~237 Ma (million years ago). The Ladinian was preceded by the Anisian and succeeded by the Carnian (part of the Upper or Late Triassic) ...

ages Ages may refer to: *Advanced glycation end-products, known as AGEs *Ages, Kentucky, census-designated place, United States * ''Ages'' (album) by German electronic musician Edgar Froese *The geologic time scale, a system of chronological measuremen ...

of the

Middle Triassic In the geologic timescale, the Middle Triassic is the second of three epochs of the Triassic period or the middle of three series in which the Triassic system is divided in chronostratigraphy. The Middle Triassic spans the time between Ma ...

epoch In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured. The moment of epoch is usually decided by ...

in what is now southern Switzerland and northern Italy. Fossils were recovered from the

Besano Formation The Besano Formation is a geological formation in the southern Alps of northwestern Italy and southern Switzerland. This formation, a short but fossiliferous succession of dolomite and black shale, is famous for its preservation of Middle Triassic ...

Monte San Giorgio Monte San Giorgio is a mountain and UNESCO World Heritage Site on the border between Switzerland and Italy. It is part of the Lugano Prealps, overlooking Lake Lugano in the Swiss Canton of Ticino. Monte San Giorgio is a wooded mountain, risin ...

and

Besano Besano is a town and ''comune'' located in the province of Varese, in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. Paleontological site The fossils of Besano In 1993 the fossil of a Triassic aquatic reptile dating back to about 235 million years ...

area at the Swiss-Italian boundary. The

type species In 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 species that contains the biological type specimen( ...

is ''Meridensia meridensis'' (= ''Meridensia gibba''). Its name refers to the Swiss town of

Meride Meride is a village and former municipality in the district of Mendrisio in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 14 April 2013 the former municipalities of Besazio, Ligornetto and Meride merged into the municipality of Mendrisio.

on Monte San Giorgio.

References

Prehistoric ray-finned fish genera Triassic bony fish Prehistoric neopterygii Triassic fish of Europe Triassic Italy Triassic Switzerland Fossils of Italy Fossils of Switzerland {{Triassic-fish-stub

See also

References