| Archaeomaenidae Temporal range:Early Jurassic-Cretaceous | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Life restoration ofArchaeomaene tenuis | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Division: | Teleostei |
| Family: | †Archaeomaenidae Boulenger, 1904 |
| Genera | |
Archaeomaenidae is an extinct family ofstem-teleost fish found in freshwater environments ofJurassicNew South Wales ofAustralia,China, andAntarctica, and inLower Cretaceous New South Wales and Mongolia.
Archaeomaenidae was originally erected by the Belgian zoologistGeorge Albert Boulenger for the (then) two species ofArchaeomaene (A. tenuis andA. robustus) of theTalbragar fishbeds, which had originally been assigned to the familyPholidophoridae. It was later expanded to include the other Talbragar fish generaAetheolepis andAphnelepis as well. In 1941,Archaeomaene robustus was moved to the new genusMadariscus by R. T. Wade; however, a 2021 study found that this species most likely represents mature individuals ofArchaeomaene tenuis, and is thus ajunior synonym of it.[1] Additionally, the archaeomaenid affinities ofAetheolepis andAphnelepis have been questioned,[1] withAetheolepis more recently being interpreted as a member of the familyDapediidae instead.[2] Archaeomaenidae has long been thought to be endemic to Australia, but the Asian generaGurvanichthys ofMongolia[3] andZaxilepis ofChina,[4] and the Antarctic genusOreochima, suggest that the family had a much farther, possibly global range than traditionally assumed.[5]
By the Early Cretaceous, only the Mongolian genus,Gurvanichthys, andWadeichthys, and the archaeomaenids' apparent descendant,Koonwarria, survive, where the latter two genera form important components of the vertebrate fauna of a polar lake in what is nowKoonwarra, Victoria.[6]
Thecladogram below is simplified after aphylogenetic analysis by Bean (2021). Archaeomaenidae was recovered as one of the mostbasal stem-teleost clades, lyingcrownward of the familiesPachycormidae andAspidorhynchidae, but stemward of the family Pholidophoridae:[1]
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