''Acrolepis'' (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

for "tip scale") is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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 The Tournaisian is in the ICS geologic timescale the lowest stage or oldest age of the Mississippian, the oldest subsystem of the Carboniferous. The Tournaisian age lasted from Ma to Ma. It is preceded by the Famennian (the uppermost stage ...

stage of the Mississippian (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 In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured. The moment of epoch is usually decided by ...

. Some species from the

Early Triassic The Early Triassic is the first of three epochs of the Triassic Period of the geologic timescale. It spans the time between Ma and Ma (million years ago). Rocks from this epoch are collectively known as the Lower Triassic Series, which is a un ...

of Tasmania are also ascribed to ''Acrolepis''. It is a large

piscivorous A piscivore () is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. The name ''piscivore'' is derived . Piscivore is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophage, both of which mean "fish eater". Fish were the diet of early tetrapod evoluti ...

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 The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceo ...

Ptycholepiformes Ptycholepiformes are an extinct order of prehistoric ray-finned fish that existed during the Triassic period and the Early Jurassic epoch. The order includes the genera '' Acrorhabdus'', ''Ardoreosomus'', ''Boreosomus'', '' Chungkingichthys'', '' ...

was proposed, but support from

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

analyses is scarce. Acrolepis gigas DB18

Diet

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

Palaeonisciformes The Palaeonisciformes (Palaeoniscida) are an extinct order of early ray-finned fishes ( Actinopterygii). Palaeonisciformes ''sensu lato'' first appeared in the fossil record in the Late Silurian and last appeared in the Late Cretaceous. The na ...

Fossil record

The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

is ''Acrolepis sedgwicki'' from the late Permian

Marl Slate The Marl Slate Formation is a geological formation in England. Despite its name, it is mostly dolomite rock. The Marl Slate Formation was formed about 273 to 259 million years ago, during the Guadalupian and Lopingian epochs of the late Permian ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

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 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Other species are known from Carboniferous and Permian rocks in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and Triassic layers of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. Specimens in possession of

Tyne & Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcas ...

Archives and Museums comprise a fossilized jawbone from the Marl Slate of Durham Province.

Synonyms

* ''

Acrolepis arctica ''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 Tas ...

'' Woodward, 1912 → ''Boreosomus'' ''acticus'' * ''

Acrolepis digitata ''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 Tas ...

'' Woodward, 1891 → '' Namaichthys digitata'' * '' Acrolepis laetus''

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 A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

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 Plzeň Region ( cs, Plzeňský kraj; german: Pilsner Region) is an administrative unit (''kraj'') in the western part of Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It is named after its capital Plzeň (English, german: Pilsen). In terms of area, Plzeň Reg ...

of the

, 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