''Scanilepis'' 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

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 ...

that lived during the

Rhaetian The Rhaetian is the latest age of the Triassic Period (in geochronology) or the uppermost stage of the Triassic System (in chronostratigraphy). It was preceded by the Norian and succeeded by the Hettangian (the lowermost stage or earliest age ...

Hettangian The Hettangian is the earliest age and lowest stage of 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 (My ...

ages Ages may refer to: *Advanced glycation end-products, known as AGEs *Ages, Kentucky, census-designated place, United States * ''Ages'' (album) by German electronic musician Edgar Froese *The geologic time scale, a system of chronological measuremen ...

( Late Triassic-? Lower Jurassic boundary). The type species, ''S. dubia'', is known from the Rhaetian freshwater deposits of the Bjuv member of the

Höganäs Formation The Höganäs Formation is a Late Triassic to Early Jurassic geologic Formation (geology), formation in Skåne, Sweden. The formation is mostly known for its incredible flora collection from the Bjuv member, composed of over 110 species, and also ...

, southwestern

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. A second species, ''S. spitzbergensis'' was mentioned from the Hettangian of the Festning section of the Grøfjorden area in

Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norw ...

, Norway but was never described.

Description

The original material of this genus, described by Aldinger in 1937, was destroyed during WW2 in Germany. Latter, new material was recovered from Bjuv locality, including skull and postcraneal material. This taxon represents a relatively large fish, up to 110 cm, with an isolated isolated caudal suggesting a fish of at least 2 m. The head presents unusual relative small eyes and a correlative maxilla with very large posterior plate and bony craneal top. This taxon presents a relatively elongated bodyplan with an odd dorsal fin, exceptionally long, beginning behind the head and reaching the caudal. Pectoral fins weren't found, and are assumed to be small and only played a reduced role.

Classification

This fish was originally identified as a member of the genus ''

Gyrolepis ''Gyrolepis'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric ray-finned fish from the Middle-Late Triassic epochs in what is now Europe. It is known both from complete specimens and isolated skeletal elements, such as scales or teeth. See also * Prehist ...

'', as ''Gyrolepis dubius'', but was later assigned to its own genus (''Scanilepis'') and family ( Scanilepididae), and classified as a member 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 nam ...

. Later works placed it as a taxon close to the origin of the family Amiidae, until it was found later to belong to its own

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

, Scanilepiformes, closely related with the genus ''

Evenkia Evenkia may refer to: * Evenk Autonomous Okrug, a former federal subject of Russia *Evenkiysky District Evenkiysky District (russian: Эвенки́йский райо́н), or Evenkia (russian: Эвенкия),According to Article 2.4 of the ...

''. Regarding to the microstructure of its scales, ''Scanilepis'' approaches the condition of '' Polypterus'' or ''

Erpetoichthys The reedfish, ropefish (more commonly used in the United States), or snakefish, ''Erpetoichthys calabaricus'', is a species of fish in the bichir family and order. It is the only member of the genus ''Erpetoichthys''. It is native to fresh and ...

'' more than any other genera.

References

Mesozoic fish of Europe Late Triassic fish of Europe Triassic bony fish Jurassic bony fish Triassic fish of Europe Jurassic fish of Europe Cladistia Triassic Sweden Fossils of Sweden Fossils of Svalbard {{palaeonisciformes-stub