''Acrolepis'' ( Ancient Greek for "tip scale") is an extinct genus of prehistoric

bony fish Osteichthyes (), popularly referred to as the bony fish, is a diverse superclass of fish that have skeletons primarily composed of bone tissue. They can be contrasted with the Chondrichthyes, which have skeletons primarily composed of cartilag ...

that lived from the Tournaisian stage of the

Mississippian Mississippian may refer to: * Mississippian (geology), a subperiod of the Carboniferous period in the geologic timescale, roughly 360 to 325 million years ago *Mississippian culture, a culture of Native American mound-builders from 900 to 1500 AD ...

(early

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonifero ...

) to the late Permian epoch. Some species from the Early Triassic of Tasmania are also ascribed to ''Acrolepis''. It is a large piscivorous predatory fish in the acrolepid family, which occupy an apex predator niche in its locale. ''A. gigas'' was estimated to have grown up to in length. A close relationship between the mostly

Palaeozoic The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and '' ...

Acrolepidae and the Mesozoic Ptycholepiformes was proposed, but support from phylogenetic analyses is scarce. Acrolepis gigas DB18

Diet

''Acrolepis'' possibly used its sharp, pointed teeth to catch small fish (most primarily Palaeonisciformes).

Fossil record

The type species is ''Acrolepis sedgwicki'' from the late Permian Marl Slate of England and the coeval

Kupferschiefer The Kupferschiefer (German for Copper Shale, also called Copper Slate) or Kupfermergel (Copper Marl), (T1 or Z1) is an extensive and remarkable sedimentary unit in Central Europe. The relatively monotonous succession is typically and maximum th ...

of Germany. Other species are known from Carboniferous and Permian rocks in the Czech Republic and Triassic layers of Tasmania. Specimens in possession of Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums comprise a fossilized jawbone from the Marl Slate of Durham Province.

Synonyms

* '' Acrolepis arctica''

Woodward A woodward is a warden of a wood. Woodward may also refer to: Places ;United States * Woodward, Iowa * Woodward, Oklahoma * Woodward, Pennsylvania, a census-designated place * Woodward Avenue, a street in Tallahassee, Florida, which bisects the ca ...

, 1912 → ''Boreosomus'' ''acticus'' * '' Acrolepis digitata''

, 1891 → '' Namaichthys digitata'' * ''

Acrolepis laetus ''Acrolepis'' (Ancient Greek for "tip scale") is an extinct genus of prehistoric bony fish that lived from the Tournaisian stage of the Mississippian (early Carboniferous) to the late Permian epoch. Some species from the Early Triassic of Tasm ...

Lambe Lambe is a surname, and may refer to: * Anna Lambe, Canadian actress * Charles Lambe (1900–1960), Royal Navy admiral * Charles Laverock Lambe (1875–1953), Royal Air Force air marshal * Claire Lambe (artist) (born 1962), English-born Australian ...

, 1916 → ''Pteronisculus''? ''laetus'' Žilov CoA

Other

The coat of arms of the village and municipality of

Žilov Žilov is a municipality and village in Plzeň-North District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 500 inhabitants. Žilov lies approximately north of Plzeň and west of Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; l ...

, Plzeň-North District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic, features a restoration of ''Acrolepis gigas'' in the center of the black-silver-red divided shield.

References

Mississippian fish Palaeonisciformes Prehistoric ray-finned fish genera Permian bony fish Triassic fish Triassic bony fish Fossils of Germany {{Palaeonisciformes-stub

Diet

Fossil record

Synonyms

Other

See also

References