Eospinus
Eospinus daniltshenkoi is an extinct tetraodontid bony fish from the Eocene. Its fossils are from the Danata Formation lagerstatten of Ypresian Turkmenistan.
| Eospinus Temporal range: Ypresian | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist's reconstruction | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: | |
| Family: | †Bolcabalistidae Santini & Tyler, 2002[1] |
| Genus: | †Eospinus Tyler and Bannikov, 1992 |
| Species: | †E. daniltshenkoi |
| Binomial name | |
| †Eospinus daniltshenkoi Tyler and Bannikov, 1992 | |
E. daniltshenkoi had four dorsal spines, three of which were on the anterior end of its dorsal side, and the first spine being placed between and below the eyes, almost like a long nose. It also had a pair of spines near the base of its caudal peduncle, and a spine in front of the anal fin.
In 2002, and confirmed again in 2003, Santini and Tyler erected the family Bolcabalistidae to contain both Eospinus and the Monte Bolca Bolcabalistes as close relatives of both triggerfishes and boxfishes.[2] The similar Moclaybalistes of Thanetian Denmark was originally also placed in Bolcabalistidae, too, in 2002, but then move it into its own monotypic family of Moclaybalistidae.[1]
Sources
- Santini, Francesco; Tyler, James C. (2003). "A phylogeny of the families of fossil and extant tetraodontiform fishes (Acanthomorpha, Tetraodontiformes), Upper Cretaceous to Recent". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 139 (4): 565–617. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2003.00088.x.
- Tyler, JAMES C., and F. R. A. N. C. E. S. C. O. Santini. "Review and reconstructions of the tetraodontiform fishes from the Eocene of Monte Bolca, Italy, with comments on related Tertiary taxa." Studi e ricerche sui giacimenti terziari di Bolca 9 (2002): 47-119.