''Protoclupea'' is an extinct genus of
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 ...
that lived from the
Oxfordian to the early
Tithonian
In the geological timescale, the Tithonian is the latest age (geology), age of the Late Jurassic Epoch and the uppermost stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Upper Jurassic Series. It spans the time between 149.2 ±0.7 annum, Ma and 143.1 ±0.6 (mi ...
stage of the
Late Jurassic
The Late Jurassic is the third Epoch (geology), epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time scale, geologic time from 161.5 ± 1.0 to 143.1 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic stratum, strata.Owen ...
epoch.
It contains one species, ''Protoclupea chilensis'', fossils of which have been found in the
Domeyko Range of
Antofagasta Region
The Antofagasta Region (, ) is one of Chile's Administrative divisions of Chile, sixteen first-order administrative divisions. Being the second-largest region of Chile in area, it comprises three provinces, Antofagasta Province, Antofagasta, El ...
, northern
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
.
The genus has been placed in the family
Varasichthyidae together with the genera ''
Bobbichthys
''Bobbichthys'' is an extinct genus of marine ray-finned fish that lived in what is now Chile during the Oxfordian stage of the Late Jurassic epoch. It was a member of the Varasichthyidae, a family of potentially crossognathiform fish.
It was ...
'', ''
Domeykos'', ''
Luisichthys'' and ''
Varasichthys''.
References
Crossognathiformes
Late Jurassic fish
Oxfordian genera
Tithonian genera
Jurassic fish of South America
Jurassic Chile
Fossils of Chile
Fossil taxa described in 1975
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