Elonichthys

Elonichthys is an extinct genus of prehistoric freshwater ray-finned fish known from the late Paleozoic. The genus sensu stricto contains three species known from the latest Carboniferous to the earliest Permian of freshwater ecosystems of Europe, but as a former wastebasket taxon, it contains many more dubiously-classified species from the Carboniferous and Permian of Europe, Greenland, South Africa, and North America.

Species

The following are species within Elonichthys sensu stricto:

• †E. germari <small>Giebel, 1848</small> (type species) - Late Carboniferous (Gzhelian) of Germany (Siebigerode Formation)
• †E. fritschi <small>Friedrich, 1878</small> - Early Permian (Asselian) of Germany (Meisenheim Formation)
• †E. krejcii <small>(Fritsch, 1895)</small> - Gzhelian of the Czech Republic (Slaný Formation)

Former species

The following are more dubious species that were formerly classified into this genus. However, the majority have been found to no longer even be members of Elonichthyidae.

• †E. aitkeni <small>Traquair, 1886</small> - Carboniferous of England (Culm Measures and Lancashire Coalfield) → Mesonichthys aitkeni <small>(Traquair, 1886)</small>
• †E. caudalis <small>Traquair, 1877</small> - Middle Carboniferous (Moscovian) of England (Lancashire Coalfield) → not an elonichthyid
• †E. egertoni <small>(Egerton, 1850)</small> - Middle Carboniferous (Bashkirian to Moscovian) of England (Lancashire Coalfield) → not an elonichthyid
• †E. gigas <small>Fritsch, 1877</small> → Acrolepis gigas <small>(Fritsch, 1877)</small>
• †E. macropterus <small>(Bronn, 1829)</small> → Rhabdolepis macropterus <small>(Bronn, 1829)</small>
• †E. peltigerus <small>Newberry, 1856</small> - Moscovian of Illinois and Ohio, United States (Carbondale Formation and Francis Creek Shale) → not an elonichthyid. A well-known, numerous species in the Mazon Creek fossil beds.
• †E. portlocki <small>(Egerton, 1850)</small> - Tournaisian to Visean of England, including Northern Ireland (Tyrone Group, Pendleside Limestones) → potentially an indeterminate elonichthyid
• †E. pulcherrimus <small>Traquair, 1881</small> - Early Carboniferous (Visean) of Scotland (Glencartholm Volcanic Beds, Leitrim Group) → not an elonichthyid
• †E. robisoni <small>(Hibbert, 1835)</small> (=E. bucklandi <small>(Agassiz, 1835)</small>) - Visean of Scotland (Strathclyde Group) → not an elonichthyid, most likely a kentuckiid
• †E. serratus <small>Traquair, 1881</small> - Visean of Scotland (Glencartholm Volcanic Beds, Leitrim Group) → not an elonichthyid, most likely a palaeoniscid
• †E. semistriatus <small>Traquair, 1877</small> → Moscovian of England (Lancashire Coalfield) → not an elonichthyid
• †E. striatus <small>(Agassiz, 1835)</small> → Cosmoptychius striatus <small>(Agassiz, 1835)</small>

The following other dubious species are also known:

See also

• Prehistoric fish
• List of prehistoric bony fish

References