The Elopidae are an ancient family of ray-finned fish, one of two living members of the order Elopiformes. They containing a single living genus, Elops, and many extinct genera dating back to the Late Jurassic, when the earliest stem-group elopids are known. They appear to have diverged from their closest relatives, the Megalopidae, during the Jurassic.'
Etymology
The name comes from the Ancient Greek (élops), variant of (éllops), referring to a kind of serpent or serpentlike sea fish. Compare the name of the unrelated family Elapidae.
Taxonomy
The following genera are known:
- Elops <small>Linnaeus 1766 non Bonaparte 1831 non Commerson ex Lacépède, 1801</small> - Early Cretaceous (Aptian) to present
- â Ctenodentelops <small>Forey et al., 2003</small> - Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) of Lebanon
- â Davichthys <small>Forey 1973</small> - Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian to Santonian) of Europe and the Middle East
- â Elopsomolos <small>Arratia, 2000</small> - Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) of Germany'
- â Esocelops <small>Woodward, 1901</small> - Early Eocene of England
- â Ichthyemidion <small>Arratia, 1995</small> - Early Cretaceous of Spain '
- â Italoelops <small>Taverne & Capasso, 2024</small> - Early Cretaceous (Aptian) of Italy
- â Kipalelops <small>Taverne, 1976</small> - Late Cretaceous of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- â Landanaelops <small>Taverne & Smith, 2025</small> - Middle Paleocene of Angola
- â Lyrolepis <small>Romanowski 1886 non Rechiger, 1943 -</small> Oligocene of North Caucasus, Russia
- â Nardoelops <small>Taverne & Capasso, 2012</small> - Late Cretaceous (Campanian or Maastrichtian) of Italy
- ?â Opisthopteryx <small>Pictet & Humbert, 1866</small> - Santonian of Lebanon
- ?â Palelops <small>Applegate, 1970</small> - Late Cretaceous of Alabama, USA
- â Protelops <small>Laube, 1885</small> - Cenomanian of England
- ?â Sauropsidium <small>Costa, 1850</small> - Early Cretaceous of Italy
- ?â Thrissopteroides <small>von der Marck, 1873</small> - Late Cretaceous of Germany and Lebanon
See also
References