''Uarbryichthys'' is a
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 primitive
ginglymodi
Ginglymodi is a clade of ray-finned fish containing modern-day gars (Lepisosteidae) and their extinct relatives, including the family Lepidotidae and the orders Semionotiformes and Kyphosichthyiformes, and various other extinct taxa. Ginglymodi ...
an
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 ...
from fossil beds near the
Talbragar River
Talbragar River, a perennial stream that is part of the Macquarie catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Orana district of New South Wales, Australia.
The river rises on the western side of the Liverpool Range on south s ...
Bed. The various species were lake-dwelling fish that lived during the
Upper Jurassic
The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 163.5 ± 1.0 to 145.0 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata.Owen 1987.
In European lithostratigraphy, the name ...
of
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, and are closely related to the
macrosemiids. The living animal would have had a superficial resemblance to a very small
porgie
The Sparidae are a family of fish in the order Perciformes, commonly called sea breams and porgies. The sheepshead, scup, and red seabream are species in this family. Most sparids are deep-bodied compressed fish with a small mouth separated by a ...
,
scup
The scup (''Stenotomus chrysops'') is a fish which occurs primarily in the Atlantic from Massachusetts to South Carolina. Along with many other fish of the family Sparidae, it is also commonly known as porgy.
Scup grow as large as 18 in (450&n ...
, or sea bream, but with a
heterocercal
Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...
tail fin.
References
External links
Paleobiology Database Entry
Prehistoric ray-finned fish genera
Jurassic bony fish
Prehistoric fish of Australia
Macrosemiiformes
{{Macrosemiiformes-stub