Coccodus is an extinct genus of marine pycnodontid fish that lived during the Late Cretaceous.[1] The various species had a pair of massive, curved spines emanating from the lower sides of the head, and one curved spine on the top of its head. Unlike most pycnodontids (which tend to have short, marine butterflyfish-like bodies), Coccodus species had a comparatively long body, giving the living animals a superficial resemblance to a scaly chimaera.
| Coccodus Temporal range:
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|---|---|
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| Coccodus insignis | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | †Pycnodontiformes |
| Family: | †Coccodontidae |
| Genus: | †Coccodus Pictet, 1850 |
| Species | |
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Coccodus is closely related to the similarly spined genera Trewavasia, Corusichthys, Paracoccodus, and Hensodon, which also lived during the Cenomanian of Lebanon.
Taxonomy
editTwo species are known, both from the Cenomanian-aged Sannine Formation of Lebanon:[2]
- †C. armatus Pictet, 1850 - Hakel locality of Sannine Formation
- †C. insignis Hay, 1903 - Hjoula locality of Sannine Formation
The species Coccodus lindstroemi was recently determined to be a species complex, and various specimens assigned to C. lindstroemi were redescribed as species of the gladiopycnodontid genus Joinivillichthys[3]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ a b Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Archived from the original on 2009-02-20. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
- ^ "PBDB Taxon". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 2024-05-23.
- ^ Taverne, Louis, and Luigi Capasso. "On the “Coccodus” lindstroemi species complex (Pycnodontiformes, Gladiopycnodontidae) from the marine Late Cretaceous of Lebanon, with the description of two new genera." European Journal of Taxonomy 101 (2014).
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