Post by Infinity Blade on Apr 9, 2021 8:01:07 GMT 5
Feroxichthys spp.
Life reconstruction of Feroxichthys panzhouensis. Fig. 8 of Xin-Ying et al. (2021).
Temporal range: Middle Triassic; Anisian; Pelsonian (244±1.3 Ma)[1][2]
Scientific classification:
Life
Domain: Eukaryota
(unranked): Unikonta
(unranked): Opisthokonta
(unranked): Holozoa
(unranked): Filozoa
Kingdom: Animalia
Subkingdom: Eumetazoa
(unranked): Bilateria
Clade: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Olfactores
Clade: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Clade: Eugnathostomata
Clade: Teleostomi
Clade: Euteleostomi
Class: Actinopterygii
(unranked): Actinopteri
Subclass: Chondrostei
Order: †Perleidiformes
Family: †Colobodontidae
Genus: †Feroxichthys
Species: †F. yunnanensis
†F. panzhouensis
Feroxichthys is an extinct genus of fish of the extinct family Colobodontidae that lived in China during the Middle Triassic about 244 million years ago.[1][2]
Etymology:
Feroxichthys is derived from the Latin epithet ‘ferox’, which means ferocious, and the Greek suffix ‘-ichthys’, which means fish.[1] The two known species both take their names from where they were found (Yunnan Province and Panzhou, Guizhou Province, respectively).[1][2]
Locality:
F. yunnanensis was a member of the Luoping Biota, and was found in the Second (Upper) Member of the Guanling Formation. This member dates to the Anisian age of the Middle Triassic, particularly to a substage some call the Pelsonian.[1] F. panzhouensis was found in the same formation and member.[2]
Classification:
When Feroxichthys was first described it was found to be a basal colobodontid. The family Colobodontidae, in turn, forms a clade with Teffichthys-like neopterygians, Perleidus, the clade Lowoichichthyiiformes, and more derived neopterygians. This entire clade is sister to the Polzbergiiformes.[1]
F. panzhouensis was consistently recovered as a sister taxon to F. yunnanensis within the family Colobodontidae.[2]
Description:
Feroxichthys had a blunt snout, fusiform body, and shortened heterocercal caudal fin. The dorsal fin was slightly posterior to the origins of the pelvic fins.[1] F. panzhouensis had a distinguishing feature from its sister species in having a prominent postcranial hump and relatively deep, short body (in contrast to the elongated fusiform body of F. yunnanensis). This hump-backed body form independently evolved in unrelated neopterygian lineages.[2]
F. yunnanensis was the larger of the two species, with a standard length of 290 mm and a total length of ~340 mm (contrast this with F. panzhouensis, which had a standard length of ~220 mm and a total length of ~260 mm). F. yunnanensis also had a larger skull (82 mm vs 57 mm). However, greatest body depth was actually comparable between the two species, at 85 mm and 86 mm for P. panzhouensis and P. yunnanensis, respectively.[1][2]
Paleobiology:
Feroxichthys possessed long, sharp, but stout pencil- or peg-like teeth in the maxilla. The anterior-most teeth are the longest and gradually become shorter posteriorly. Stout crushing teeth exist behind these teeth. These, along with robust and deep lower jaws, suggest that Feroxichthys was a durophagous colobodontid. However, its anterior teeth are longer and stronger than those of other colobodontids, suggesting Feroxichthys could handle much more powerful prey than its close relatives. Its prey base was likely composed of invertebrates such as gastropods, brachiopods, and bivalves. Feroxichthys may have also preyed upon heavily armored but small neopterygians such as peltopleurids, habroichthyids, venusichthyids, and platysiagids.[1][2]
F. panzhouensis was likely a slower swimmer than other colobodontids due to its hump-backed body, which would have created more drag while swimming.[2]
References:
[1] Xu G. 2020. Feroxichthys yunnanensis gen. et sp. nov. (Colobodontidae, Neopterygii), a large durophagous predator from the Middle Triassic (Anisian) Luoping Biota, eastern Yunnan, China. PeerJ 8:e10229 doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10229
[2] Ma X, Xu G, Geng B. 2021. Feroxichthys panzhouensis sp. nov., a hump-backed colobodontid (Neopterygii, Actinopterygii) from the early Middle Triassic of Panzhou, Guizhou, China. PeerJ 9:e11257 doi.org/10.7717/peerj.11257
Life reconstruction of Feroxichthys panzhouensis. Fig. 8 of Xin-Ying et al. (2021).
Temporal range: Middle Triassic; Anisian; Pelsonian (244±1.3 Ma)[1][2]
Scientific classification:
Life
Domain: Eukaryota
(unranked): Unikonta
(unranked): Opisthokonta
(unranked): Holozoa
(unranked): Filozoa
Kingdom: Animalia
Subkingdom: Eumetazoa
(unranked): Bilateria
Clade: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Olfactores
Clade: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Clade: Eugnathostomata
Clade: Teleostomi
Clade: Euteleostomi
Class: Actinopterygii
(unranked): Actinopteri
Subclass: Chondrostei
Order: †Perleidiformes
Family: †Colobodontidae
Genus: †Feroxichthys
Species: †F. yunnanensis
†F. panzhouensis
Feroxichthys is an extinct genus of fish of the extinct family Colobodontidae that lived in China during the Middle Triassic about 244 million years ago.[1][2]
Etymology:
Feroxichthys is derived from the Latin epithet ‘ferox’, which means ferocious, and the Greek suffix ‘-ichthys’, which means fish.[1] The two known species both take their names from where they were found (Yunnan Province and Panzhou, Guizhou Province, respectively).[1][2]
Locality:
F. yunnanensis was a member of the Luoping Biota, and was found in the Second (Upper) Member of the Guanling Formation. This member dates to the Anisian age of the Middle Triassic, particularly to a substage some call the Pelsonian.[1] F. panzhouensis was found in the same formation and member.[2]
Classification:
When Feroxichthys was first described it was found to be a basal colobodontid. The family Colobodontidae, in turn, forms a clade with Teffichthys-like neopterygians, Perleidus, the clade Lowoichichthyiiformes, and more derived neopterygians. This entire clade is sister to the Polzbergiiformes.[1]
F. panzhouensis was consistently recovered as a sister taxon to F. yunnanensis within the family Colobodontidae.[2]
Description:
Feroxichthys had a blunt snout, fusiform body, and shortened heterocercal caudal fin. The dorsal fin was slightly posterior to the origins of the pelvic fins.[1] F. panzhouensis had a distinguishing feature from its sister species in having a prominent postcranial hump and relatively deep, short body (in contrast to the elongated fusiform body of F. yunnanensis). This hump-backed body form independently evolved in unrelated neopterygian lineages.[2]
F. yunnanensis was the larger of the two species, with a standard length of 290 mm and a total length of ~340 mm (contrast this with F. panzhouensis, which had a standard length of ~220 mm and a total length of ~260 mm). F. yunnanensis also had a larger skull (82 mm vs 57 mm). However, greatest body depth was actually comparable between the two species, at 85 mm and 86 mm for P. panzhouensis and P. yunnanensis, respectively.[1][2]
Paleobiology:
Feroxichthys possessed long, sharp, but stout pencil- or peg-like teeth in the maxilla. The anterior-most teeth are the longest and gradually become shorter posteriorly. Stout crushing teeth exist behind these teeth. These, along with robust and deep lower jaws, suggest that Feroxichthys was a durophagous colobodontid. However, its anterior teeth are longer and stronger than those of other colobodontids, suggesting Feroxichthys could handle much more powerful prey than its close relatives. Its prey base was likely composed of invertebrates such as gastropods, brachiopods, and bivalves. Feroxichthys may have also preyed upon heavily armored but small neopterygians such as peltopleurids, habroichthyids, venusichthyids, and platysiagids.[1][2]
F. panzhouensis was likely a slower swimmer than other colobodontids due to its hump-backed body, which would have created more drag while swimming.[2]
References:
[1] Xu G. 2020. Feroxichthys yunnanensis gen. et sp. nov. (Colobodontidae, Neopterygii), a large durophagous predator from the Middle Triassic (Anisian) Luoping Biota, eastern Yunnan, China. PeerJ 8:e10229 doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10229
[2] Ma X, Xu G, Geng B. 2021. Feroxichthys panzhouensis sp. nov., a hump-backed colobodontid (Neopterygii, Actinopterygii) from the early Middle Triassic of Panzhou, Guizhou, China. PeerJ 9:e11257 doi.org/10.7717/peerj.11257
