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.[1]

Foreyia
Temporal range: Lower Ladinian,
Fossil and digram of the skeleton of Foreyia maxkuhni
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Sarcopterygii
Class: Actinistia
Order: Coelacanthiformes
Family: Latimeriidae
Genus: †Foreyia
Cavin et al., 2017
Type species
Foreyia maxkuhni
Cavin et al., 2017

Description and classification
Restoration of the coelacanth Foreyia maxkuhni. Artwork by Alain Bénéteau.

F. maxkuhni is an aberrant-looking member of the family Latimeriidae, with a proportionally enormous head, a curved, beak-like maxilla, an underbite, and a low, horn-like point on its otherwise dome-like head. Despite such a bizarre appearance, phylogenetic analyses squarely place F. maxkuhni as the sister taxon of Ticinepomis, another latimeriid also found in the same strata. The two latimeriids share numerous anatomical traits with each other, strongly suggesting a close relation.[1]

Naming

The generic name honors the late Peter L. Forey for his contributions to the study of coelacanth fishes. The specific epithet honors Max Kuhn, who had been instrumental in preparing fossils from Monte San Giorgio for 12 years, including the holotype and paratype specimens of F. maxkuhni.[1]

References
  1. Cavin, L.; Mennecart, B.; Obrist, C.; Costeur, L.; Furrer, H. (2017). "Heterochronic evolution explains novel body shape in a Triassic coelacanth from Switzerland". Scientific Reports. 7 (1): 13695. Bibcode:2017NatSR...713695C. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-13796-0. PMC 5651877. PMID 29057913.


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