left, Marine life of the Early and early ">Middle Triassic: ''Ticinepomis'' (13) ''Ticinepomis'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

coelacanth Coelacanths ( ) are an ancient group of lobe-finned fish (Sarcopterygii) in the class Actinistia. As sarcopterygians, they are more closely related to lungfish and tetrapods (the terrestrial vertebrates including living amphibians, reptiles, bi ...

lobe-finned fish Sarcopterygii (; )—sometimes considered synonymous with Crossopterygii ()—is a clade (traditionally a class or subclass) of vertebrate animals which includes a group of bony fish commonly referred to as lobe-finned fish. These vertebrates ar ...

which lived during the

Middle Triassic In the geologic timescale, the Middle Triassic is the second of three epoch (geology), epochs of the Triassic period (geology), period or the middle of three series (stratigraphy), series in which the Triassic system (stratigraphy), system is di ...

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Period (punctuation) * Era, a length or span of time *Menstruation, commonly referred to as a "period" Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (o ...

in what is now

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 ...

. It contains two species, ''T. peyeri'' and ''T. ducanensis.'' Specimens of the species ''T. peyeri'', which was named after

Bernhard Peyer Bernhard Peyer (25 July 1885 – 23 February 1963) was a Swiss paleontologist and anatomist who served as a professor at the University of Zurich. A major contribution was on the evolution of vertebrate teeth. Peyer was born in Schaffhausen, Swit ...

, are most common in the

Besano Formation The Besano Formation is a geological formation in the southern Alps of northwestern Italy and southern Switzerland. This formation, a thin but fossiliferous succession of Dolomite (rock), dolomite and Shale, black shale, is famous for its preserva ...

(or Grenzbitumenzone) of

Monte San Giorgio Monte San Giorgio is a Swiss mountain and UNESCO World Heritage Site near 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 mountai ...

in canton

Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...

. Other coelacanths from Monte San Giorgio include a larger species (tentatively referred to '' Holophagus picenus'') from the Besano Formation, and a species of ''

Heptanema ''Heptanema'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric coelacanth from the Middle Triassic ( Ladinian) of northern Italy and southern Switzerland (Monte San Giorgio). The type and only species is ''Heptanema paradoxa''. Woodward (1891) suggested tha ...

'' from the Meride Limestone. Larger ''Ticinepomis'' specimens have been found in the Prosanto Formation of canton Graubünden, originally referred to as ''Ticinepomis'' cf. ''T. peyeri''. A revision showed that this material belongs to a new species, ''T. ducanensis'', remains of which were also discovered in the Besano Formation of canton Ticino. The Prosanto Formation also produced the unusual coelacanths ''

Foreyia ''Foreyia'' is an extinct genus of coelacanth lobe-finned fish which lived during the Middle Triassic period in what is now Canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It contains a single species ''F. maxkuhni''. Naming The generic name honors the late ...

'' and ''

Rieppelia ''Rieppelia'' is an extinct genus of latimeriid coelacanth fish from the Middle Triassic of Switzerland, in what is now Monte San Giorgio. It contains a single species, ''R. heinzfurreri''. Naming The generic name is given in honor of Dr. Oliv ...

''.

Classification

''Ticinepomis'' was originally described as being a member of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Coelacanthidae Coelacanthidae is an extinct family of coelacanths found in freshwater and marine strata throughout the world, originating during the Permian, and finally dying out during the Jurassic. The modern-day genus '' Latimeria'' is often erroneously t ...

, being similar to ''

Coelacanthus ''Coelacanthus'', from Ancient Greek κοῖλος (''koîlos''), meaning "hollow", and ἄκανθα (''ákantha''), meaning "spine", is a genus of extinct marine coelacanths known from the late Permian period (geology), period. It was the first ...

'', ''Holophagus'' and '' Undina''. Later, ''T. peyeri'' was placed in

Latimeriidae Latimeriidae is the only extant family of coelacanths, an ancient lineage of lobe-finned fish. It contains two extant species in the genus ''Latimeria'', found in deep waters off the coasts of southern Africa and east-central Indonesia. In additi ...

. The bizarre Prosanto Formation latimeriid ''

'' is thought to be ''T. peyeri''s closest relative, as they share many features despite their drastically contrasting appearances.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3991177 Latimeriidae Prehistoric lobe-finned fish genera Triassic bony fish Triassic fish of Europe Fossil taxa described in 1980