''Spathiurus'' is an extinct genus of

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

that lived during the

Cenomanian The Cenomanian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy's (ICS) geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age (geology), age of the Late Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or the lowest stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Upper Cretace ...

in the

Sannine Formation The Sannine Formation, also called the Sannine Limestone, is a Cretaceous geologic formation in Lebanon. It is a Konservat-Lagerstätte that contains a high diversity of well-preserved fish, reptiles, and invertebrates from the Tethys Ocean wit ...

of Lebanon.

Description

''Spathiurus'' was designated as a member of the family Ionoscopidae in 2020, as it shows the diagnostic features of the group, making it the first member of the family to be known from the late Cretaceous as well as the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. It is believed to be a sister taxon to '' Ionoscopus'' ''petrarojae'', the both are more derived than Ionoscopus''' ''cyprinoides'', which probably belongs in a different distinct genus. The species ''Amphilaphurus major'' is currently believed synonymous with ''Spathiurus dorsalis''.

References

External links

* Ionoscopidae Late Cretaceous fish Late Cretaceous fish of Asia Prehistoric ray-finned fish genera {{cretaceous-fish-stub