Colobodus is an extinct genus of marine Triassic ray-finned fish of the family Colobodontidae and order Perleidiformes. Fossils have been found in Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland) and China, encompassing the former Tethys Ocean. It could reach body lengths of about .
The original type species was Colobodus hogardi <small>Agassiz, 1844</small>, the fossils of which are probably destroyed, therefore the new type species C. bassanii was designated.
Taxonomy
The following species are known:
- C. bassanii <small>de Alessandri, 1910</small> - Late Anisian of Italy & Switzerland (Besano Formation)
- C. maximus <small>(Quenstedt, 1867)</small> - Anisian of Italy (Besano Formation), Anisian to Carnian of Germany (Muschelkalk)
- C. praemaximus <small>Corroy, 1928</small> - Early Triassic of France
- C. koenigi <small>Stolley, 1920</small> - Late Anisian of Germany (Muschelkalk) (possibly synonymous with C. bassanii)
- C. baii <small>Sun et al., 2008</small> - Anisian of Guizhou, China
- C. giganteus <small>(Beltan, 1972)</small> - Late Ladinian of Spain (Muschelkalk)
- C. wushaensis <small>Li et al., 2019</small> - Carnian of Guizhou, China
Several other species (C. stensioei, C. dealessandrii, C. stolleyi, C. cyclolepis, and C. anguillalepis) were proposed by Mutter (2002) from a single fossiliferous level from the Besano Formation, although their validity is uncertain due to the extreme morphological variety within the group.
Records of Colobodus exist outside of Europe and China, but these remains are thought to be highly questionable.
Synonyms
- Colobodus altilepis <small>Woodward, 1912</small> â Perleidus woodwardi <small>(Woodward, 1912)</small>
- Colobodus scutatus <small>Gervais, 1852</small> â Bobasatrania scutata <small>(Gervais, 1852)</small>
Fossil gallery
See also
References