| Scalacurvichthys | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Image and camera lucidia drawing of the holotype (SMNK-PAL. 8613) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | †Pycnodontiformes |
| Family: | †Pycnodontidae |
| Subfamily: | †Pycnodontinae |
| Genus: | †Scalacurvichthys Cawley, and Kriwet2017 |
| Type species | |
| †Scalacurvichthys naishi John Cawley, and Jürgen Kriwet, 2017 | |
Scalacurvichthys (meaning "curved scale fish") is an extinct genus ofpycnodontinepycnodontiformfish from theAmminadav Formation orBet-Meir Formation in theWest Bank;Palestine. The type species isS.naishi, only known from the holotype.[1]
The generic name,Scalacurvichthys, is derived from theLatin words 'scala' and 'curva'. 'Scala' translates to scale, and 'curva' translates to curved. This is in reference to the raised, anterior-facing first dorsal ridge scale protruding above the skull roof. And theGreek word 'ἰχθύς' which translates to fish. The specific name,naishi, is dedicated toDr. Darren Naish, who is a prominent palaeontologist and the founder of the vertebrate palaeozoology blogTetrapod Zoology, and its accompanying conventionTetZooCon.[2][1]
Scalacurvichthys is known only from theholotype,SMNK-PAL. 8613, which was described by Cawley and Kriwet (2017). The holotype measures at around 12.3 cm (4.8 in) in length. It consists of an almost completely and fully articulated specimen, however, it is lacking somecranial andpostcranial details due totaphonomic processes. Severalmorphological elements, especially of the postcranial skeleton, are preserved and recognizable only as imprints.[1]
In theirphylogenetic analysis, Cawley and Kriwet (2017) recoveredScalacurvichthys amongst thepycnodontine grade ofpycnodontiforms, most closely related toOropycnodus and other pycnodontines. The followingcladogram represents thephylogenetic results of a consensus tree, with unordered characters based on the modified database of Poyato-Ariza and Wenz (2002).[3] The original tree used several members outside ofPycnodontidae and Pycnodontiformes as anoutgroup, however, for the sake of simplicity, only members of Pycnodontidae are shown below.[1]
