Coccolepididae is an extinct family 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 h ...

, known from the Early

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and 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 Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...

to Early

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

, most of which were originally referred to the type genus ''

Coccolepis ''Coccolepis'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric ray-finned fish in the family Coccolepididae. Originally including most species within the family, it is now restricted to two species from the Late Jurassic Solnhofen Limestone of Germany. The ...

.'' They had a widespread distribution, being found in North and South America, Australia, Asia and Europe. They are mostly known from freshwater environments, though several species have been found in marine environments. They are morphologically conservative, and have poorly ossified endo and exoskeletons, which usually results in poor preservation. This makes it difficult to distinguish species. They are generally small fish, with the largest known specimens reaching a length of 210 mm. Historically, they have been classified as members of “

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 ...

”, a paraphyletic grouping of non-

neopterygian Neopterygii (from Greek νέος ''neos'' 'new' and πτέρυξ ''pteryx'' 'fin') is a subclass of ray-finned fish (Actinopterygii). Neopterygii includes the Holostei and the Teleostei, of which the latter comprise the vast majority of extant f ...

fish, due to their plesiomorphic conservative morphology closely resembling those of many other groups of primitive fish. They have been suggested to be relatives of the

Acipenseriformes Acipenseriformes is an order of basal ray-finned fishes that includes living and fossil sturgeons and paddlefishes (Acipenseroidei), as well as the extinct families Chondrosteidae and Peipiaosteidae. They are the second earliest div ...

within the

Chondrostei Chondrostei is a group of non-neopterygian ray-finned fish, while the term originally referred to a paraphyletic group of all non-neopterygian ray-finned fish, it was redefined by Patterson in 1982 to be a clade comprising the Acipenseriformes (w ...

Taxonomy

After * ''

'' Agassiz, 1843 Solnhofen Limestone, Germany, Late Jurassic ( Tithonian) ** ''Coccolepis bucklandi'' Agassiz, 1843 ** ''Coccolepis solnhofensis'' López-Arbarello, and Ebert, 2021 * ''"Coccolepis" liassica'' Woodward, 1890

Blue Lias The Blue Lias is a geological formation in southern, eastern and western England and parts of South Wales, part of the Lias Group. The Blue Lias consists of a sequence of limestone and shale layers, laid down in latest Triassic and early Jurassi ...

or Charmouth Mudstone Formation, England, Early Jurassic (

Sinemurian In the geologic timescale, the Sinemurian is an age and stage in the Early or Lower Jurassic Epoch or Series. It spans the time between 199.3 ± 2 Ma and 190.8 ± 1.5 Ma (million years ago). The Sinemurian is preceded by the Hettangian and ...

) * ''"Coccolepis" australis'' Woodward, 1895 Talbragar Fossil Beds, Australia, Late Jurassic (Tithonian) * ''

Morrolepis ''Morrolepis'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric coccolepidid "palaeoniscoid" ray-finned fish that lived during the Late Jurassic and earliest Cretaceous epochs in Europe, Asia and North America. The type species is ''Morrolepis schaefferi' ...

'' Kirkland, 1998 ** ''M. schaefferi'' Kirkland, 1998 Morrison Formation, United States Late Jurassic ( Tithonian) ** ''M. aniscowitchi'' (Gorizdro-Kulczycka), 1926

Karabastau Formation The Karabastau Formation ( kk, Qarabastaý svıtasy) is a geological formation and lagerstätte in the Karatau Mountains of southern Kazakhstan whose strata date to the Middle to Late Jurassic. It is an important locality for insect fossils that ...

, Kazakhstan, Middle-Late Jurassic (

Callovian In the geologic timescale, the Callovian is an age and stage in the Middle Jurassic, lasting between 166.1 ± 4.0 Ma (million years ago) and 163.5 ± 4.0 Ma. It is the last stage of the Middle Jurassic, following the Bathonian and preceding the ...

/ Oxfordian) ** ''M. andrewsi'' ( Woodward, 1891)

Purbeck Group The Purbeck Group is an Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous lithostratigraphic group (a sequence of rock strata) in south-east England. The name is derived from the district known as the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset where the strata are exposed in ...

, United Kingdom, Early Cretaceous (

Berriasian In the geological timescale, the Berriasian is an age/stage of the Early/Lower Cretaceous. It is the oldest subdivision in the entire Cretaceous. It has been taken to span the time between 145.0 ± 4.0 Ma and 139.8 ± 3.0 Ma (million years ago ...

) * '' Barbalepis'' Olive, Taverne, and López-Arbarello, 2019 Sainte-Barbe Clays Formation, Belgium, Early Cretaceous (

Barremian The Barremian is an age in the geologic timescale (or a chronostratigraphic stage) between 129.4 ± 1.5 Ma (million years ago) and 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma). It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous Epoch (or Lower Cretaceous Series). It is precede ...

/ Aptian) formerly ''Coccolepis macroptera'' Traquair, 1911 * '' Condorlepis'' López-Arbarello, Sferco, and Rauhut, 2013 ** ''Condorlepis groeberi'' (Bordas, 1943) Cañadón Calcáreo Formation, Argentina, Upper Jurassic ** ''Condorlepis woodwardi'' (Waldman, 1971) Koonwarra fossil bed, Australia, Early Cretaceous (Aptian) * '' Iyalepis'' Sytchevskaya, 2006 Cheremkhovskaya Formation, Russia, Early Jurassic (

Toarcian The Toarcian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, an age and stage in the Early or Lower Jurassic. It spans the time between 182.7 Ma (million years ago) and 174.1 Ma. It follows the Pliensbachian and is followed by the Aalenian. The Toarcian ...

) formerly ''Angaraichthys rohoni'' Sytchevskaya and Yakovlev, 1985 * '' Plesiococcolepis'' Wang, 1977 Lingling-Hengyang, Hunan, China, Early Jurassic ** ''Plesiococcolepis hunanensis'' Wang, 1977 * '' Sunolepis'' Liu, 1957 Yumen, Gansu Province, China, Upper Jurassic or Lower Cretaceous ** ''Sunolepis yumenensis'' Liu, 1957

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q25927479 Prehistoric chondrostei Prehistoric ray-finned fish families