Pholidophorus


Pholidophorus is an extinct genus of teleost fish from the Triassic period of Africa, Europe, and South America.

Taxonomy

The nominal species "Pholidophorus" friedeni Delsate, 1999 and "Pholidophorus" gervasuttii Zambelli, 1980 were renamed Luxembourgichthys and Lombardichthys by Taverne and Steurbaut and Arratia respectively. Likewise, the Early Jurassic form "Pholidophorus" bechei was renamed Dorsetichthys and moved to its own family, Dorsetichthyiformes, by Arratia. The Late Jurassic nominal species "Pholidophorus" purbeckensis was renamed Ichthyokentema by Arthur Woodward in 1941.

Description

Pholidophorus was a herring-like fish about long, although it was not closely related to modern herring. Like them, however, it had a single dorsal fin, a symmetrical tail, and an anal fin placed towards the rear of the body. It had large eyes and was probably a fast-swimming predator, hunting planktonic crustaceans and smaller fish.
A very early teleost, Pholidophorus had many primitive characteristics such as ganoid scales and a spine that was partially composed of cartilage, rather than bone.