Holophagus
Display parents2
TaxonHolophagus gulo
Parent authorityEgerton, 1861
AuthorityEgerton, 1861

Holophagus is an extinct genus of marine coelacanth belonging to the Latimeriidae.[1] It contains a single species, H. gulo, known from the Early Jurassic (Sinemurian)[2]-aged Blue Lias formation of England.[3] Most authors now generally consider the genus restricted to the Lias of England.[2][4]

Taxonomy

The species Holophagus penicillata/penicillatus[5] from the Late Jurassic of Europe is now assigned to the genus Undina.[6] The species Holophagus picenus from the Middle Triassic of Europe has also been reassigned by some authors to Undina.[7] At least some specimens assigned to the genus from the Upper Jurassic of Germany actually belong to the genus Libys.[6] The species Holophagus leridae from the Early Cretaceous El Montesec site in Spain, with other remains tenatively referred from the Early Cretaceous Las Hoyas locality also in Spain, probably do not belong in the genus, but have yet to be reassigned elsewhere.[4]

Holophagus belongs to the Latimeriinae subfamily of Latimeriidae, making it rather closely related to the modern coelacanth Latimeria.[2]

References

  1. ^ Toriño, Pablo; Soto, Matías; Perea, Daniel (2021-12-02). "A comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of coelacanth fishes (Sarcopterygii, Actinistia) with comments on the composition of the Mawsoniidae and Latimeriidae: evaluating old and new methodological challenges and constraints". Historical Biology. 33 (12): 3423–3443. Bibcode:2021HBio...33.3423T. doi:10.1080/08912963.2020.1867982. ISSN 0891-2963. S2CID 233942585
  2. ^ Ferrante, Christophe & Cavin, Lionel (2025). "A deep dive into the coelacanth phylogeny". PLOS ONE. 20 (6): e0320214. Bibcode:2025PLoSO..2020214F. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0320214. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 12143573. PMID 40478838
  3. ^ Egerton, Philip de M. Grey (December 1868). "On some new fossil fish from the Lias of Lyme Regis". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 2 (12): 459. doi:10.1080/00222936808695864. ISSN 0374-5481
  4. ^ Martín-Abad, Hugo & Fregenal- Martínez, Marian (2021-12-02). "The ecology of the Lower Cretaceous coelacanths from Las Hoyas Konservat- Lagerstätte (Cuenca, Spain): A new insight after the integration of palaeontological and sedimentological data". Spanish Journal of Palaeontology. 36 (2): 191–204. doi:10.7203/sjp.36.2.21966. hdl:10486/718757. ISSN 2660-9568
  5. ^ Cloutier, Richard (1991). "Patterns, trends, and rates of evolution within the Actinistia". Environmental Biology of Fishes. 32 (1–4): 23–58. Bibcode:1991EnvBF..32...23C. doi:10.1007/bf00007444. ISSN 0378-1909. S2CID 33275098
  6. ^ Ferrante, Christophe; Menkveld-Gfeller, Ursula; Cavin, Lionel (2022-09-22). "The first Jurassic coelacanth from Switzerland". Swiss Journal of Palaeontology. 141 (1): 15. Bibcode:2022SwJP..141...15F. doi:10.1186/s13358-022-00257-z. ISSN 1664-2376. PMC 9499918. PMID 36164559
  7. ^ Cavin, Lionel; Furrer, Heinz; Obrist, Christian (November 2013). "New coelacanth material from the Middle Triassic of eastern Switzerland, and comments on the taxic diversity of actinistans". Swiss Journal of Geosciences. 106 (2): 161–177. Bibcode:2013SwJG..106..161C. doi:10.1007/s00015-013-0143-7. ISSN 1661-8726. S2CID 140189669