''Challaia'' 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 prehistoric freshwater
ray-finned fish that lived during the
Triassic period in what is now
Argentina (
Mendoza). Two species are known, ''C. magna'' (
type species), most likely from the
Cerro de Las Cabras Formation, and ''C. elongata'' (previously assigned to ''
Myriolepis'') from the
Los Rastros Formation
The Los Rastros Formation is a Ladinian to Carnian fossiliferous formation of the Agua de la Peña Group in the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin in northwestern Argentina. Fossil theropod tracks,Weishampel et al., 2004, pp. 517-607 as well as many ...
.
Three other species, ''C. multidentata'', ''C. striata'' and ''C.''? ''cacheutensis'', are considered ''
nomina dubia
In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application.
Zoology
In case of a ''nomen dubium'' it may be impossible to determine whether a s ...
''.
''C. elongata'' is the youngest known member of the
Acrolepididae, a family of early ray-finned fishes that was dominant throughout the late Paleozoic, and survived into the Triassic.
See also
*
Prehistoric fish
*
List of prehistoric bony fish
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College
Albert A. List College of Jewish Studies, known simply as List College, is the undergraduate school of the J ...
References
Prehistoric ray-finned fish genera
Triassic bony fish
Middle Triassic fish
Ladinian genera
Triassic fish of South America
Middle Triassic vertebrates of South America
Fossils of Argentina
Fossil taxa described in 1946
{{Palaeonisciformes-stub