Anaethalion is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine and freshwater ray-finned fish related to modern tarpons and ladyfish. It is known from the Late Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous of Europe and northeasterrn Asia (Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Russia), roughly encompassing the Tethys Ocean.[1][2]
It is the earliest known member of the Elopiformes and the Elopomorpha in general.[3] The earliest known species are marine, but later species are found in freshwater habitats.
The following species are known:[1]
A. macrorhynchus (Eichwald, 1846) (Aptian of Siberia)
A. knorri (Blainville, 1818) (Kimmeridgian of Germany)
A. valdensis (Woodward, 1907) (Berriasian-Hauterivian of England)
A. zapporum Arratia, 2000 (Kimmeridgian of Germany)
An undescribed species is known from the Albian of Italy. The genus Aethalionopsis was previously considered synonymous with Anaethalion, but is now known to be a fossil relative of the milkfish. Some authorities place some of its species (A. valdensis and the undescribed Italian species) with Aethalionopsis instead.[1][4][5]
^Alves, Yuri Modesto; Alvarado-Ortega, Jesús; Brito, Paulo M. (2020-06-01). "†Epaelops martinezi gen. and sp. nov. from the Albian limestone deposits of the Tlayúa quarry, Mexico – A new late Mesozoic record of Elopiformes of the western Tethys". Cretaceous Research. 110: 104260. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2019.104260. ISSN 0195-6671.
^Near, Thomas J; Thacker, Christine E (18 April 2024). "Phylogenetic classification of living and fossil ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii)". Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History. 65. doi:10.3374/014.065.0101.
^Fara, Emmanuel; Gayet, Mireille; Taverne, Louis (2010-01-01), "The Fossil Record of Gonorynchiformes" (PDF), Gonorynchiformes and Ostariophysan Relationships, CRC Press, pp. 173–226, doi:10.1201/b10194-6, ISBN 978-0-429-06156-1, retrieved 2024-02-06
^Taverne, Louis (1981). "Ostéologie et position systématique d'Aethalionopsis robustus (Pisces, Teleostei) du Crétacé inférieur de Bernissart (Belgique) considérations sur les affinités des Gonorhynchiformes". Bulletins de l'Académie Royale de Belgique. 67 (1): 958–982. doi:10.3406/barb.1981.57174.
Anaethalion is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine and freshwater ray-finned fish related to modern tarpons and ladyfish. It is known from the Late...
wui. Portion of the dinosaur exhibit. Fossil fish Fossil specimen of Anaethalion knorri from the Solnhofen limestone Mummies from the Walton Hall of Ancient...
the ctenochasmatid pterosaur Balaenognathus, and the extinct bony fish Anaethalion. The following fossils have been reported from the formation: Alligatorium...
[Anaethalionidae Gaudant 1967] Genus †Daitingichthys Arratia 1987 Genus †Anaethalion White 1938 [Aethalion von Münster 1842 non Lepeletier & Serville 1828]...
of western Europe. Formerly classified as a species of the elopiform Anaethalion, it is now known to be a relative of the modern milkfish (Chanos) in...
Genus Species Notes Images Allothrissops A. mesogaster A. sp Anaethalion A. angustus A. cirinensis Aspidorhynchus A. acutirostris Caturus C. furcatus...
5194/fr-3-137-2000. ISSN 2193-0074. Arratia, Gloria (January 1987). "Anaethalion and similar teleosts (Actinopterygii, Pisces) from the Late Jurassic...