| Pholidophorus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pholidophorus latiusculus fossil | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | †Pholidophoriformes |
| Family: | †Pholidophoridae |
| Genus: | †Pholidophorus Agassiz, 1832 |
| Species: | †P. latiusculus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Pholidophorus latiusculus Agassiz, 1832 | |
Pholidophorus (fromGreek:φολῐ́ςpholis, 'horny scale' andGreek:φέρωphérō, 'to bear')[1] is anextinct genus ofstem-teleost fish. Numerous species were assigned to this genus in the past, but only thetype speciesPholidophorus latiusculus, from theLate Triassic of Europe, is considered to be a valid member of the genus today.[2][3]
For a long time, the genusPholidophorus served as awastebasket taxon containing various unrelated species of basal stem teleosts. Over the years, many of these have been moved to separate genera. The Late Jurassic nominal species"Pholidophorus" purbeckensis was renamedIchthyokentema by Arthur Woodward in 1941.[4] Likewise, the Early Jurassic form"Pholidophorus" bechei was renamedDorsetichthys and moved to its own family,Dorsetichthyidae, by Arratia (2013).[5] The nominal species"Pholidophorus" friedeni Delsate, 1999, and"Pholidophorus" gervasuttii Zambelli, 1980, were renamedLuxembourgichthys andLombardichthys by Taverne and Steurbaut (2017) and Arratia (2017), respectively.[6][2]
Pholidophorus was aherring-like fish about 40 centimetres (16 in) long, although it was not closely related to modern herring. Like them, however, it had a singledorsal fin, a symmetrical tail, and ananal fin placed towards the rear of the body. It had large eyes and was probably a fast-swimming predator, huntingplanktoniccrustaceans and smaller fish.[7]
A very early teleost,Pholidophorus had many primitive characteristics, such asganoid scales and aspine that was partially composed ofcartilage rather thanbone.[7]
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