Asarotus Explained

Asarotus is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish from the Niobrara Formation of Nebraska, during the Campanian.^[1] The type species, A. arcanus is only known from poorly preserved single specimen, which makes hard to classify existing orders of Cretaceous actinopterygians. It is thus classified as the only member of its family Asarotidae and order Asarotiformes.^{[2] [3]} Some authorities consider it a late-surviving member of the "palaeonisciform" fishes.

Notes and References

1. Book: Schaeffer, Bobb . A new actinopterygian fish from the Cretaceous of North America . 1968 . New York, N.Y. : American Museum of Natural History . American Museum of Natural History Library.
2. Web site: PBDB . 2024-02-21 . paleobiodb.org.
3. Shimada . K. . Fielitz . C. . 2006 . ANNOTATED CHECKLIST OF FOSSIL FISHES FROM THE SMOKY HILL CHALK OF THE NIOBRARA CHALK (UPPER CRETACEOUS) IN KANSAS . New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin . 35.