Hyperopisus sp.

Hyperopisus is a monospecific genus of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Mormyridae, the elephantfishes. The only species in the genus is Hyperopisus bebe. This species is known from many rivers in the northern half of Africa, ranging from the Senegal to the Nile basin. It reaches a length of 51 cm (20 in).

A picture published with the record for Hyperopisus sp.. What it shows has not been checked.

Boulenger, George Albert; Loat, L. · Public Domain · 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.

Time the record covers

At least 13 million years on record.

The record covers at least 15.98 Mya to 2.58 Mya. No occurrence read is dated outside 23.04 Mya to 0 Mya.

Oligocene — about 0 of 15 occurrencesMiocene — about 4 of 15 occurrencesMiocenePliocene — about 8 of 15 occurrencesPliocenePleistocene — about 3 of 15 occurrencesPleistocene24–23 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences23–22 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences22–21 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences21–20 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences20–20 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences20–19 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences19–18 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences18–17 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences17–16 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences16–16 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences16–15 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences15–14 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences14–13 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences13–13 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences13–12 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences12–11 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences11–10 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences10–9.4 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences9.4–8.6 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences8.6–7.8 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences7.8–7.1 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences7.1–6.3 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences6.3–5.5 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences5.5–4.7 Mya — about 2 occurrences4.7–3.9 Mya — about 2 occurrences3.9–3.1 Mya — about 2 occurrences3.1–2.4 Mya — about 2 occurrences2.4–1.6 Mya — about 1.0 occurrences1.6–785 ka Mya — about 1.0 occurrences785 ka–0 Mya — about 1.0 occurrences15.98 Mya2.58 Mya23.5 Mya0 Mya

15 occurrences of Hyperopisus sp. on record, most of them in the Pliocene. 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

15 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

9 formations

Nachukui — 2.90°N, 36.05°ENkondo — 1.50°N, 31.00°EWarwire — 1.50°N, 31.00°ELusso Beds — 0.03°N, 29.62°EMuluk — 30.42°N, 30.25°EKaiso Village — 1.50°N, 31.00°ENyabusosi — 1.00°N, 30.50°ENyaburogo — 1.00°N, 30.50°EDam — 25.98°N, 49.39°E

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The named rock units Hyperopisus sp. has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 2 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Hyperopisus sp. and its relatives

Pliocene

Where Hyperopisus sp. and its relatives were recorded in the Pliocene.

Found in the same rock

224 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 15 sites for Hyperopisus sp., 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

12 references

Each of the 15 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. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content2

Picture of Hyperopisus sp.

Credit
Boulenger, George Albert; Loat, L.
Licence
Public Domain
Commercial use
the licence allows it

CT scan

Licence
In Copyright
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record
Specimen
Hyperopisus bebe · CUMV:Fish:91467

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 itFormations of the PlioceneThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0.