''Brouweria'' 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 marine

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 ...

related to the modern tarpon. It was named by L.F. de Beaufort (1926) and assigned the family "Elopsidae", though later studies have placed it in the family

Megalopidae Tarpons are fish of the genus ''Megalops''. They are the only members of the family Megalopidae. Of the two species, one (''M. atlanticus'') is native to the Atlantic, and the other (''M. cyprinoides'') to the Indo-Pacific Oceans. Species and ...

. It was discovered by geologist Hendrik Albertus Brouwer (of which the genus honors) after rock had been exploded to construct a road, from

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

rocks near Putanuang Asue (

Maros Maros is a town in the South Sulawesi province of Indonesia close to the provincial capital of Makassar. It is the capital of the Maros Regency. Maros is the location of the Indonesian Cereals Research Institute, a branch of the Indonesian A ...

Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...

Description

De Beaufort defines the genus by the following; the parietals are known to contact, which separates the supraoccipital from the frontals. Praefrontals are developed, the mouth is large and bordered by the praemaxillary from the in the front and the maxillary from the behind. Teeth are small, if present at all, the opercular series is complete, meta-ecto and ento-pterygoids present. Few vertebrae are known, constricting nearer to the middle with a canal to fit the spinal chord. The dorsals are of moderate length, the caudals deeply-fork and only 3 "normal vertebrae" participate through the haemal spines to support the caudals. Cycloid scales and a simple lateral line are also present.

Classification

In the original description, two species were coined: ''B. striata'' and ''B. robusta''. The former is a large individual preserving the head and anterior of the body. However, ''B. striata'' was tentatively placed into the genus despite scarce evidence for this, as expressed in the original description. Instead, it was placed in ''Brouweria'' because it can not fit anywhere else in Elopsidae. De Beaufort also notes a ''B.'' sp., a large individual lacking a head and the anterior portion of the body. In some ways, such as grooves that generally radiate more, this individual can be distinguished from ''B. robusta''. This specimen is about 250 millimeters long but the individual is certainly not below 400 millimeters. ''B.'' sp. is tentatively assigned the genus because "it is easier to refer a fossil, which bears a name." The specimens of ''B. robusta'' were named Specimen A and Specimen B. It may have lived similarly to other elopsids.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4975913 Megalopidae Prehistoric ray-finned fish genera Miocene fish of Asia Fossils of Indonesia Taxa named by Lieven Ferdinand de Beaufort Fossil taxa described in 1926

Description

Classification

See also

References