left, Marine life of the Early and early Middle Triassic: ''Ticinepomis'' (13) ''Ticinepomis'' is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

coelacanth The coelacanths ( ) are fish belonging to the order Actinistia that includes two extant species in the genus ''Latimeria'': the West Indian Ocean coelacanth (''Latimeria chalumnae''), primarily found near the Comoro Islands off the east coast ...

lobe-finned fish Sarcopterygii (; ) — sometimes considered synonymous with Crossopterygii () — is a taxon (traditionally a class or subclass) of the bony fishes known as the lobe-finned fishes. The group Tetrapoda, a mostly terrestrial superclass includ ...

which lived during the

Middle Triassic In the geologic timescale, the Middle Triassic is the second of three epochs of the Triassic period or the middle of three series in which the Triassic system is divided in chronostratigraphy. The Middle Triassic spans the time between Ma and ...

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...

in what is now Switzerland. It contains a single species, ''T. peyeri''. ''T. peyeri'' specimens are most common in the

Besano Formation The Besano Formation is a geological formation in the southern Alps of northwestern Italy and southern Switzerland. This formation, a short but fossiliferous succession of dolomite and black shale, is famous for its preservation of Middle Triassic ...

(or Grenzbitumenzone) of

Monte San Giorgio Monte San Giorgio is a mountain and UNESCO World Heritage Site on the border between Switzerland and Italy. It is part of the Lugano Prealps, overlooking Lake Lugano in the Swiss Canton of Ticino. Monte San Giorgio is a wooded mountain, rising ...

Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

. Other coelacanths from Monte San Giorgio include a larger species (tentatively referred to '' Holophagus picenus'') from the Besano Formation, and a species of ''

Heptanema ''Heptanema'' is an Extinction, extinct genus of prehistoric coelacanth from the Middle Triassic (Ladinian) of northern Italy and Switzerland. The Type species, type and only species is ''Heptanema paradoxum''. Woodward (1891) suggested that '' ...

'' from the

Meride Limestone Meride is a village and former municipality in the district of Mendrisio in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 14 April 2013 the former municipalities of Besazio, Ligornetto and Meride merged into the municipality of Mendrisio.

. Larger ''Ticinepomis'' specimens have been found in the Prosanto Formation of Graubünden. ''Ticinepomis'' was originally described as being a member of the

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

Coelacanthidae Coelacanthidae is an extinct family of coelacanths found in freshwater and marine strata throughout the world, originating during the Permian, and finally dying out during the Jurassic. The modern-day genus ''Latimeria'' is often erroneously tho ...

, being similar to ''

Coelacanthus ''Coelacanthus'' ("Hollow Spine") is a genus of extinct coelacanths that first appeared during the Permian period. It was the first genus of coelacanths described, about a century before the discovery of the extant coelacanth. The order Coelaca ...

'', ''Holophagus'' and '' Undina''. Later, ''T. peyeri'' was placed in

Latimeriidae Latimeriidae is the only extant family of coelacanths, an ancient lineage of lobe-finned fish. It contains two extant species in the genus ''Latimeria'', found in deep waters off the coasts of southern Africa and east-central Indonesia. In additio ...

. The bizarre Prosanto Formation latimeriid '' Foreyia'' is thought to be ''T. peyeri''s closest relative, as they share many features despite their drastically contrasting appearances.

References

Latimeriidae Prehistoric lobe-finned fish genera Triassic bony fish Triassic fish of Europe Fossil taxa described in 1980 {{Triassic-animal-stub