Caeus
Extinct genus of fishes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Caeus is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish, closely related to the modern milkfish. It contains a single species, C. leopoldi from the Early Cretaceous of the Pietraroja Plattenkalk, Italy.[2] It is one of the largest teleosts known from the Pietraroja formation, and is known by only a single specimen.[3]
| Caeus Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Gonorynchiformes |
| Family: | Chanidae |
| Subfamily: | Chaninae |
| Genus: | †Caeus Costa, 1857 |
| Species: | †C. leopoldi |
| Binomial name | |
| †Caeus leopoldi | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
It was first described as a genus without a species in 1857, before being officially described as a proper species in 1860. Some authorities have placed it as a species of the modern genus Chanos, but further studies have affirmed it as being a distinct genus. It is thought to be phylogenetically intermediate between Parachanos and Dastilbe.[3][4][5]
