''Aetheolepis'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

genus of

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

which lived in freshwater environments in what is now

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

during the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

period. It contains one species, ''A. mirabilis''. ''Aetheolepis'' was previously thought to be an archaeomaenid, until a 2016 study instead recovered it as a member of the family Dapediidae. Like other dapediids, it had a deep, discoid-shaped body. Fossils of ''A. mirabilis'' have been found in the Talbragar River fossil beds of New South Wales and the

Colalura Sandstone The Colalura Sandstone is a Middle Jurassic geologic formation of the Perth Basin of Western Australia. The formation overlies the Moonyoonooka Sandstone. Dinosaur remains have been recovered from the formation. Vertebrate paleofauna Few re ...

of Western Australia. It was named by Arthur Smith Woodward in 1865 along with other Talbragar fish.

References

Dapediidae Freshwater fish Middle Jurassic fish Prehistoric fish of Australia Prehistoric ray-finned fish genera {{Jurassic-fish-stub

See also

References