''Watsonulus'' is an extinct

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 prehistoric

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 ...

that lived during the

Early Triassic The Early Triassic is the first of three epochs of the Triassic Period of the geologic timescale. It spans the time between Ma and Ma (million years ago). Rocks from this epoch are collectively known as the Lower Triassic Series, which is a un ...

epoch In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured. The moment of epoch is usually decided by ...

in what is now

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. It may have also existed in what is now

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, during the

Induan The Induan is the first age of the Early Triassic epoch in the geologic timescale, or the lowest stage of the Lower Triassic series in chronostratigraphy. It spans the time between 251.902 Ma and Ma (million years ago). The Induan is sometimes ...

age Age or AGE may refer to: Time and its effects * Age, the amount of time someone or something has been alive or has existed ** East Asian age reckoning, an Asian system of marking age starting at 1 * Ageing or aging, the process of becoming older ...

(Early Triassic).Romano et al. (2016): Marine Early Triassic Osteichthyes from Spiti, Indian Himalayas. Swiss Journal of Palaeontology 135: 275-294 https://doi.org/10.1007/s13358-015-0098-6 The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

, described by

Jean Piveteau Jean Piveteau (23 September 1899 – 7 March 1991) was a distinguished French vertebrate paleontologist. He was elected to the French Academy of Sciences in 1956 and served as the institute's president in 1973. References External links Membe ...

, is ''Watsonia eugnathoides''. Because "''Watsonia''" was

preoccupied The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linn ...

, the new genus name ''Watsonulus'' was later erected.

Classification

''Watsonulus'' belongs to

Parasemionotidae Parasemionotiformes is an extinct order of neopterygian ray-finned fish that existed globally during the Triassic period. It comprises the families Parasemionotidae and Promecosominidae. Many of the included genera are monotypic and most specie ...

, a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

of early

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 ...

s closely related with halecomorphs. Other members of Parasemionotidae include '' Albertonia'', ''

Candelarialepis ''Candelarialepis'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric ray-finned fish that lived during the Induan age of the Early Triassic epoch in what is now Nevada. It was described from the Candelaria Formation. See also * List of prehistoric bony fis ...

'', '' Icarealcyon'', '' Jacobulus'', '' Lehmanotus'', ''

Parasemionotus ''Parasemionotus'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric bony fish that lived in the Induan age (geology), age of the Early Triassic epoch in what is now Madagascar. It is the name giving genus of the family (taxonomy), family Parasemionotidae and t ...

'', '' Qingshania'', '' Stensioenotus'', '' Suius'', and '' Thomasinotus''. Similar to ''Albertonia'' (Early Triassic of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

) and ''Icarealcyon'', the

pectoral fins 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 ...

of ''Watsonulus'' were fairly large.

References

Parasemionotiformes Early Triassic fish Fossil taxa described in 1935 Prehistoric animals of Madagascar Extinct animals of Russia Prehistoric ray-finned fish genera {{triassic-fish-stub