Davichthys Explained

Davichthys is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish related to modern ladyfish. It is known from the Late Cretaceous of southern Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. It is one of the earliest known elopids.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

Taxonomy

The following species are known:

• †D. dubius (Davis, 1887) - Late Santonian of Lebanon (Sahel Alma) (=Osmeroides dubius Davis, 1887)
• †D. gardneri Forey, 1973 - Late Cenomanian of Lebanon (Sannine Formation)
• †D. lacostei (Arambourg, 1954) - Late Cenomanian of Italy (Scaglia Variegata Alpina Formation, Scaglia Bianca Formation) including Sicily (Argille Varicolori Formation), and Morocco (Jbel Tselfat) (=Holcolepis lacostei Arambourg, 1954)

Description

This fish was usually less than 15 centimeters long, and its appearance must have been very similar to that of the modern Elops . Like the latter, Davichthys had an elongated body with an oval cross-section, slightly flattened laterally. The eyes were rather large, while the mouth had robust jaws. The dorsal fin and the anal fin were rather small; the ventral fins were inserted far back, under the dorsal. The pectoral fins were placed low on the body. The caudal fin was very broad and strongly forked.

See also

• Prehistoric fish
• List of prehistoric bony fish

External links

• Bony fish in the online Sepkoski Database

Notes and References

1. Web site: PBDB Taxon . 2024-08-09 . paleobiodb.org.
2. Forey . Peter L . Forey . Peter L. . 1973-12-21 . A revision of the Elopiform Fishes, fossil and recent . Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). Geology. Supplement . 10 . 1––222 . 10.5962/p.310418.
3. Book: Stiassny . Melanie L. J. . Interrelationships of Fishes . Parenti . Lynne R. . Johnson . G. David . 1996-11-08 . Academic Press . 978-0-08-053492-3 . en.
4. Amalfitano . Jacopo . Giusberti . Luca . Fornaciari . Eliana . Carnevale . Giorgio . 2020-04-03 . UPPER CENOMANIAN FISHES FROM THE BONARELLI LEVEL (OAE2) OF NORTHEASTERN ITALY . Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia . en . 126 . 2 . 10.13130/2039-4942/13224 . 2039-4942.