Martinichthys Explained

Martinichthys is an extinct genus of plethodid fish from the Cretaceous of North America.^{[1] [2]} It is known from the Niobrara Chalk, in which it is exceedingly rare.^[3] It is named after one H. T. Martin, who collected the most complete specimen at the time of description.

Two species are known, the short-snouted M. brevis and the long-snouted M. ziphioides; multiple other species previously described have been synonymized with M. ziphioides.^[4] With its long rostrum, the genus shows notable morphological convergence with modern billfish and the co-occurring pachycormid fish Protosphyraena, although not to the extent of its close relative, Rhamphoichthys.^[5]

Notes and References

1. Sepkoski . Jack . A compendium of fossil marine animal genera . Bulletins of American Paleontology . 364 . 560 . 2002 . 2009-02-27 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110723131237/http://strata.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/jack/showgenera.php?taxon=611&rank=class . July 23, 2011 .
2. McClung . C. E. . 1926 . "Martinichthys"-A New Genus of Cretaceous Fish from Kansas, with Descriptions of Six New Species . Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society . 65 . 5 . 20–26 . 984285 . 0003-049X.
3. Web site: Martinichthys, mystery fish of the Smoky Hill Chalk . 2024-01-03 . oceansofkansas.com.
4. Taverne . Louis . 2000-01-01 . Révision du genre Martinichthys, poisson marin (Teleostei, Tselfatiiformes) du Crétacé supérieur du Kansas (États-Unis) . Géobios . 33 . 2 . 211–222 . 10.1016/S0016-6995(00)80018-2. 2000Geobi..33..211T .
5. El Hossny . Tamara . Cavin . Lionel . Kaplan . Ulrich . Schwermann . Achim H. . Samankassou . Elias . Friedman . Matt . The first articulated skeletons of enigmatic Late Cretaceous billfish-like actinopterygians . Royal Society Open Science . 2023 . 10 . 12 . 231296 . 10.1098/rsos.231296 . 2054-5703 . 38077217. 10698480 . 2023RSOS...1031296E .