Berycopsis Explained

Berycopsis is an extinct genus of marine ray-finned fish from the Late Cretaceous period. Fossils are known from England, Germany, and Lebanon.^{[1] [2]} A potential specimen is known from the Czech Republic.^[3]

It is generally placed among the beardfish in the family Polymixiidae. However, one 2009 study found it to be a more basal acanthomorph, and tentatively placed it as Beryciformes incertae sedis. However, later studies have continued to place it in the Polymixiidae.^{[4] [5] [6] [7]}

The following species are known:

• B. elegans Dixon, 1850 - Early Cenomanian to Turonian of the United Kingdom
• B. germanus (Agassiz, 1839) - Late Campanian of Germany (syn: B. oblongus von der Marck 1863)
• B. paucoradius Dietze, 2009 - Late Campanian of Germany
• B. pulcher Bannikov & Bacchia, 2005 - Late Cenomanian of Lebanon

The species Platycormus gibbosus von der Marck, 1885 may also belong to this genus, but the holotype has been lost and thus nothing about it is known. B. elegans and B. germanus may also be synonymous with each other, but not enough about the former's morphology to decide this.

Berycopsis was about 35cm (14inches) long and one of the earliest known members of the Acanthopterygii, the group that includes the present day barracuda, swordfish, seahorses, and flatfish. Like its modern relatives, the first fin rays in the dorsal and anal fins were modified into defensive spines, and the pelvic fins were located close to the pectoral fins. Berycopsis was one of the earliest fish known to have these features, which are widespread today.

Notes and References

1. Web site: PBDB . 2024-03-09 . paleobiodb.org.
2. Book: Palmer, D.. 1999 . The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. Marshall Editions. London. 41. 1-84028-152-9.
3. Ekrt . Boris . Košt'ák . Martin . Mazuch . Martin . Voigt . Silke . Wiese . Frank . 2008-08-01 . New records of teleosts from the Late Turonian (Late Cretaceous) of the Bohemian Cretaceous Basin (Czech Republic) . Cretaceous Research . 29 . 4 . 659–673 . 10.1016/j.cretres.2008.01.013 . 0195-6671.
4. Dietze . Kathrin . 2009-06-01 . Morphology and phylogenetic relationships of certain neoteleostean fishes from the Upper Cretaceous of Sendenhorst, Germany . Cretaceous Research . 30 . 3 . 559–574 . 10.1016/j.cretres.2008.11.001 . 0195-6671.
5. Murray . Alison M. . 2014 . Mid-Cretaceous acanthomorph fishes with the description of a new species from the Turonian of Lac des Bois, Northwest Territories, Canada . Vertebrate Anatomy Morphology Palaeontology . en . 1 . 101–115 . 10.18435/B5CC78 . 2292-1389. free .
6. Friedman . Matt . Beckett . Hermione T. . Close . Roger A. . Johanson . Zerina . 2016 . The English Chalk and London Clay: two remarkable British bony fish Lagerstätten . Geological Society, London, Special Publications . en . 430 . 1 . 165–200 . 10.1144/SP430.18 . 0305-8719.
7. Schrøder . Ane Elise . Rasmussen . Jan Audun . Møller . Peter Rask . Carnevale . Giorgio . 2022-08-31 . A new beardfish (Teleostei, Polymixiiformes) from the Eocene Fur Formation, Denmark . Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . en . 42 . 2 . 10.1080/02724634.2022.2142914 . 0272-4634. 10037/28645 . free .