Dorsetichthys
Extinct genus of ray-finned fishes
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Dorsetichthys is an extinct genus of marine stem-teleost ray-finned fish from the Early Jurassic period of Europe. It contains a single species, D. bechei, known from the Sinemurian-aged Lower Lias of England and the Moltrasio Formation of Italy.[1][2]
| Dorsetichthys Temporal range: Early Jurassic (Sinemurian), | |
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| Fossil of D. bechei,Teylers Museum, Haarlem | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Division: | Teleostei |
| Order: | †Dorsetichthyiformes Arratia, 2013 |
| Family: | †Dorsetichthyidae Arratia, 2013 |
| Genus: | †Dorsetichthys Arratia, 2013 |
| Species: | †D. bechei |
| Binomial name | |
| †Dorsetichthys bechei (Agassiz, 1837) | |
| Synonyms | |
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Description
Taxonomy
The type species of Dorsetichthys, D. bechei, was formerly assigned to Pholidophorus, but Arratia (2013) recognized it as generically distinct from the Pholidophorus type species, placing it in the new family Dorsetichthyidae and new order Dorsetichthyiformes.[3]
Dorsetichthys is widely considered to be a teleosteomorph, a primitive early relative of teleosts, the group that comprises the vast majority of living ray-finned fish. Cladogram of Teleosteomorpha after Sferco et al. 2021:[5]
| Teleostei total group (Teleosteomorpha) |
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Ecology
One probable specimen of Dorsetichthys has been found preserved within the jaws of the larger fish Dapedium punctatum suggesting that it was preyed upon by the larger fish.[6]
