Gymnothorax

Gymnothorax is a genus of fish in the family Muraenidae found in Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. With more than 120 species, it the most speciose genus of moray eels.

Gymnothorax

Williams, J. T.; Carpenter, K. E.; Van Tassell, J. L.; Hoetjes, P.; Toller, W.; Etnoyer, P.; Smith, M. · CC BY 2.5 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Sits inside
MuraenidaePBDB
Diet
carnivorePBDB, for Muraenidae
Life habit
nektobenthicPBDB, for Muraenidae
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Muraenidae

Time the record covers

At least 7.1 million years on record.

The record covers at least 41.03 Mya to 33.9 Mya. No occurrence read is dated outside 56 Mya to 5.333 Mya.

Paleocene — about 0 of 5 occurrencesEocene — about 4 of 5 occurrencesEoceneOligocene — about 0 of 5 occurrencesOligoceneMiocene — about 1 of 5 occurrencesMiocenePliocene — about 0 of 5 occurrences57–55 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences55–54 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences54–52 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences52–50 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences50–48 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences48–46 Mya — about 0.8 occurrences46–45 Mya — about 0.8 occurrences45–43 Mya — about 0.8 occurrences43–41 Mya — about 0.8 occurrences41–39 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences39–38 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences38–36 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences36–34 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences34–32 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences32–31 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences31–29 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences29–27 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences27–25 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences25–24 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences24–22 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences22–20 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences20–18 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences18–17 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences17–15 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences15–13 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences13–11 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences11–9.6 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences9.6–7.8 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences7.8–6.1 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences6.1–4.3 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences41.03 Mya33.9 Mya57 Mya4 Mya

5 occurrences of Gymnothorax on record, most of them in the Eocene. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group, and the chart stops with its fossils rather than at the present. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

5 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

4 formations

Selsey — 50.80°N, 1.21°WElmore — 50.80°N, 1.21°WLede — 50.92°N, 3.78°ECalcaire Grossier — 49.31°N, 2.25°E

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The named rock units Gymnothorax has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 1 occurrence has no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Gymnothorax and its relatives

Eocene

Where Gymnothorax and its relatives were recorded in the Eocene.

Found in the same rock

198 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 5 sites for Gymnothorax, and this reads all of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

4 references

Each of the 5 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. Each entry links to the Paleobiology Database's own record for the work.

Media and terms

Media content3

Picture of Gymnothorax

Credit
Williams, J. T.; Carpenter, K. E.; Van Tassell, J. L.; Hoetjes, P.; Toller, W.; Etnoyer, P.; Smith, M.
Licence
CC BY 2.5
Commercial use
the licence allows it

CT scan

Licence
In Copyright
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record
Specimen
Gymnothorax chilospilus · TCWC:Ichthyology:12633.11

3D model

Source
Sketchfab
Licence
CC0 Public Domain
Commercial use
the licence allows it

Smithsonian Open Access was not reached for this taxon, so this list is what the others held rather than everything there is.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itMuraenidae through timeFormations of the EoceneThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Bloch 1795