''Dastilbe'' is an extinct genus 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 ...

from the

Aptian The Aptian is an age in the geologic timescale or a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early or Lower Cretaceous Epoch or Series and encompasses the time from 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma to 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma (million years ago), a ...

Species

* ''Dastilbe elongatus'' Silva Santos, 1947 * ''Dastilbe crandalli'' Jordan, 1910Davis, Samuel P. and David M. Martill - The gonorynchiform fish ''Dastilbe'' from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil
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Description

''Dastilbe'' could reach a length of , with a maximum length of about . It was probably an

anadromous Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousan ...

fish, tolerant of hypersalinity and subjected to frequent mass mortality. Larger individuals of this predatory fish fed on small fishes and probably they were also cannibalistic.

Distribution

''Dastilbe'' was a primitive gonorynchiform fish widespread in

Gondwanaland Gondwana () was a large landmass, often referred to as a supercontinent, that formed during the late Neoproterozoic (about 550 million years ago) and began to break up during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago). The final stages ...

. Fossils of this fish have been found in the

stage of the

Lower Cretaceous Lower may refer to: *Lower (surname) *Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) *Lower Wick Lower Wick is a small hamlet located in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is situated about five miles south west of Dursley, eight ...

Cabo, Codo and

Crato Formation The Crato Formation is a geologic formation of Early Cretaceous ( Aptian) age in northeastern Brazil's Araripe Basin. It is an important Lagerstätte (undisturbed fossil accumulation) for palaeontologists. The strata were laid down mostly duri ...

s of northeastern Brazil and in the Lower Cretaceous of Africa.

Taxonomy

The type species ''Dastilbe crandalli'' was described by the American

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...

David Starr Jordan David Starr Jordan (January 19, 1851 – September 19, 1931) was the founding president of Stanford University, serving from 1891 to 1913. He was an ichthyologist during his research career. Prior to serving as president of Stanford Univer ...

from specimens collected in Brazil, up to four species have been suggested as comprising ''Dastilbe'' but other authorities have suggested that the genus is monotypic, comprising a single phenotypically plastic species ''D. crandalli''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5226912 Prehistoric ray-finned fish genera Early Cretaceous fish Aptian life Prehistoric fish of Africa Prehistoric fish of South America Early Cretaceous animals of South America Cretaceous Brazil Fossils of Brazil Crato Formation Fossil taxa described in 1910

Species

Description

Distribution

Taxonomy

See also

References