Pygopterus
Extinct genus of fishes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pygopterus is an extinct genus of prehistoric bony fish that lived during the Wuchiapingian to Olenekian ages (late Permian to Early Triassic epochs) in what is now England, Germany (Baden-Württemberg, Saxony-Anhalt), Greenland and Svalbard (Spitsbergen).[2][3] It is one of the few genera of ray-finned fish known to cross the Permian-Triassic boundary.[3]
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| Pygopterus Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
 | |
| P. humboldti fossil (Museum of Paleontology, Tübingen) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Family: | †Pygopteridae |
| Genus: | †Pygopterus Agassiz, 1833 |
| Type species | |
| †Palaeothrissium humboldti Blainville, 1818 | |
| Other species[1] | |
| |
Fossils have been found in the Marl Slate Formation, Kupferschiefer (Werra Formation), Ravnefjeld Formation, Vikinghøgda Formation and Buntsandstein.[1][2] A report about the discovery of this fish in Westphalian deposits of Belgium was likely caused by the presence of Nematoptychius which was referred to as Pygopterus in late 19th century.[4]
Synonyms
- Pygopterus greenockii Traquair, 1866 → Nematoptychius greenockii (Traquair, 1866)[1]
