Obaichthyidae Temporal range:
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Fossil of Obaichthys decoratus | |
Scientific classification
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Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Clade: | Ginglymodi |
Order: | Lepisosteiformes |
Superfamily: | Lepisosteoidea |
Family: | †
Obaichthyidae Grande, 2010 |
Genera | |
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Obaichthyidae is an extinct family of ginglymodian ray-finned fish that lived in what is now Africa and South America during the Cretaceous period ( Aptian– Cenomanian ages). It was erected in 2010 by Lance Grande to include the genera Dentilepisosteus and Obaichthys. [1] [2] In 2012, it was defined as a stem-based taxon containing all taxa more closely related to Obaichthys than to the genera Lepisosteus, Pliodetes or Lepidotes. [3] Afrocascudo, initially described as the earliest known armored catfish, might represent a juvenile obaichthyid, possibly a junior synonym of Obaichthys, [4] though this has been disputed based on the complete ossification of the bones indicating full maturity and the absence of important holostean characters. [5]
Obaichthyids were close relatives of the modern gars of the family Lepisosteidae, with the two groups making up the superfamily Lepisosteoidea. [3] They are also known as spiny gars, referencing their close resemblance and relationship to modern gars, with one difference being their spiny scales. [1] [6] They also differ from extant gars in their highly specialized jaws, with a prominent overbite, teeth concentrated at the tip, and a very small gape, indicating that they likely fed on small invertebrates, in contrast to all lepisosteids which are adapted to feed on other vertebrates. [7]
Obaichthyidae Temporal range:
| |
---|---|
| |
Fossil of Obaichthys decoratus | |
Scientific classification
![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Clade: | Ginglymodi |
Order: | Lepisosteiformes |
Superfamily: | Lepisosteoidea |
Family: | †
Obaichthyidae Grande, 2010 |
Genera | |
|
Obaichthyidae is an extinct family of ginglymodian ray-finned fish that lived in what is now Africa and South America during the Cretaceous period ( Aptian– Cenomanian ages). It was erected in 2010 by Lance Grande to include the genera Dentilepisosteus and Obaichthys. [1] [2] In 2012, it was defined as a stem-based taxon containing all taxa more closely related to Obaichthys than to the genera Lepisosteus, Pliodetes or Lepidotes. [3] Afrocascudo, initially described as the earliest known armored catfish, might represent a juvenile obaichthyid, possibly a junior synonym of Obaichthys, [4] though this has been disputed based on the complete ossification of the bones indicating full maturity and the absence of important holostean characters. [5]
Obaichthyids were close relatives of the modern gars of the family Lepisosteidae, with the two groups making up the superfamily Lepisosteoidea. [3] They are also known as spiny gars, referencing their close resemblance and relationship to modern gars, with one difference being their spiny scales. [1] [6] They also differ from extant gars in their highly specialized jaws, with a prominent overbite, teeth concentrated at the tip, and a very small gape, indicating that they likely fed on small invertebrates, in contrast to all lepisosteids which are adapted to feed on other vertebrates. [7]