Clupavus
Extinct genus of ray-finned fishes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Clupavus is an extinct genus of marine ray-finned fish that lived during the middle of the Cretaceous period.[3] It is known from North Africa, Europe, Brazil, and possibly North America.
| Clupavus Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| (unranked): | Otophysi |
| Family: | †Clupavidae |
| Genus: | †Clupavus Arambourg, 1950 |
| Type species | |
| †Clupavus maroccanus Arambourg, 1968 | |
| Species | |
Taxonomy
It contains the following species:
- †C. brasiliensis Santos, 1985 - Aptian of Bahia, Brazil (Marizal Formation) [1][4]
- †C. maroccanus Arambourg, 1968 - Cenomanian of Morocco (Jbel Tselfat), late Cenomanian/early Turonian of Germany (Hesseltal Formation)[2][5][6]
Fossils of an indeterminate Clupavus species are abundant in the Albian-aged Pietraroja Plattenkalk of Italy, and the Cenomanian-aged Komen Limestone of Slovenia.[7][8] A few specimens of a potential indeterminate species are also known from the Albian-aged Mowry Shale of Wyoming, USA.[9][10]
The genus was initially described in 1950 with the species C. neocomiensis (Bassani, 1879) as its type species, based on a specimen from Morocco classified C. cf. neocomiensis. In 1968, the original C. neocomiensis was found to be synonymous with Leptolepis brodiei, so Clupavus was redefined with the newly-described C. maroccanus as the type species.[11][12] The classification of C. brasiliensis in this genus has been questioned, as it differs from C. maroccanus in the morphology of the caudal skeleton.[13][14] The species Casieroides yamangaensis and Chardonius longicaudatus from the Democratic Republic of the Congo were initially classified in this genus, but are now known to be unrelated.[4]
Initially described as a member of the Clupeiformes,[12] later studies have found the presence of a Weberian apparatus in members of this genus, indicating them to be basal otophysans.[4][15] Relatives of Clupavus include Lusitanichthys and possibly Jhingrania.[16][17]
Ecology
Clupavus is one of the most common fossil fishes in the formations where it occurs in Europe.[5][7][8] They are especially common in the Hesseltal Formation of Germany, from around the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary. These German fossils indicate that Clupavus was a widespread, sardine-like shoaling fish, closely associated with cool waters from upwelling, that served as the base of the food chain in marine ecosystems of the Tethys Sea and pre-North Sea. Remains of Clupavus have been found as the fossilized stomach contents of medium-sized predatory fishes such as Bananogmius ornatus and possibly Protostomias maroccanus.[5]
