Benedenius
Extinct genus of ray-finned fishes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Benedenius is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish. It is known from the Early Carboniferous of Belgium.[1][2] It was named after Belgian paleontologist Pierre-Joseph van Beneden.
| Benedenius Temporal range: Visean, | |
|---|---|
| |
| Specimen at the Museum of Natural Sciences, Belgium | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | †Eurynotiformes |
| Family: | †Styracopteridae |
| Genus: | †Benedenius Traquair, 1878 |
| Species | |
| |
It contains two species:[1]
- B. deneensis (van Beneden, 1871)
- B. soreili Fraipont, 1890
Formerly classified as a "paleonisciform", more recent studies suggest that it belongs to an early order of deep-bodied actinopterygians known as the Eurynotiformes. It is generally classified within the Styracopteridae, though at least one recent study treats it as a member of the Amphicentridae.[3][4][5][6]
