Palaeonisciformes

Palaeoniscoids are an extinct grouping of primitive ray-finned fish (Actinopterygii), spanning from the Silurian/Devonian to the Cretaceous. Though often assigned to their own order, the Palaeonisciformes, they are generally considered paraphyletic, but their exact relationships to living ray-finned fish are uncertain. While some and perhaps most palaeoniscoids likely belong to the stem-group of Actinopteryii it has been suggested that some may belong to the crown group, with some of these possibly related to Cladistia and/or Chondrostei. Many palaeoniscoids share a conservative body shape and a similar arrangement of skull bones, though paleoniscoids as a whole exhibit considerable diversity in body shape.

Palaeonisciformes

R. H. Traquair · 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.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Sits inside
ActinopterygiiPBDB
Diet
carnivorePBDB
Life habit
nektonicPBDB
Motility
actively mobilePBDB

Time the record covers

At least 266 million years on record.

The record covers at least 387.95 Mya to 121.4 Mya. No occurrence read is dated outside 410.62 Mya to 113.2 Mya.

Devonian — about 49 of 1188 occurrencesDevonianCarboniferous — about 428 of 1188 occurrencesCarboniferousPermian — about 238 of 1188 occurrencesPermianEarly Triassic — about 56 of 1188 occurrencesMiddle Triassic — about 53 of 1188 occurrencesLate Triassic — about 327 of 1188 occurrencesLate TriassicEarly Jurassic — about 26 of 1188 occurrencesEarly JurassicMiddle Jurassic — about 2 of 1188 occurrencesLate Jurassic — about 2 of 1188 occurrencesEarly Cretaceous — about 8 of 1188 occurrencesEarly Cretaceous417–406 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences406–396 Mya — about 2 occurrences396–386 Mya — about 24 occurrences386–375 Mya — about 8 occurrences375–365 Mya — about 8 occurrences365–355 Mya — about 24 occurrences355–344 Mya — about 44 occurrences344–334 Mya — about 109 occurrences334–324 Mya — about 65 occurrences324–313 Mya — about 59 occurrences313–303 Mya — about 41 occurrences303–293 Mya — about 114 occurrences293–283 Mya — about 23 occurrences283–272 Mya — about 29 occurrences272–262 Mya — about 37 occurrences262–252 Mya — about 131 occurrences252–241 Mya — about 88 occurrences241–231 Mya — about 44 occurrences231–221 Mya — about 64 occurrences221–210 Mya — about 76 occurrences210–200 Mya — about 170 occurrences200–190 Mya — about 14 occurrences190–179 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences179–169 Mya — about 0.9 occurrences169–159 Mya — about 2 occurrences159–148 Mya — about 1 occurrence148–138 Mya — about 0.7 occurrences138–128 Mya — about 1 occurrence128–118 Mya — about 4 occurrences118–107 Mya — about 2 occurrences387.95 Mya121.4 Mya417 Mya107 Mya

1,188 occurrences of Palaeonisciformes on record, most of them in the Carboniferous. 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

1,188 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

269 formations

Gullane — 56.04°N, 2.83°WGullane — 55.96°N, 3.24°WGullane — 55.97°N, 3.25°WGullane — 55.88°N, 3.59°WGullane — 55.93°N, 3.24°WChinle — 34.44°N, 109.46°WChinle — 35.05°N, 109.83°WChinle — 36.33°N, 106.47°WChinle — 35.84°N, 111.25°WChinle — 34.87°N, 109.80°WChinle — 36.09°N, 111.36°WChinle — 35.65°N, 111.12°WChinle — 34.68°N, 109.58°WChinle — 38.28°N, 108.90°WChinle — 38.17°N, 109.23°WChinle — 38.13°N, 109.18°WWestbury — 53.03°N, 0.81°WWestbury — 51.60°N, 2.63°WWestbury — 51.32°N, 2.97°WWestbury — 51.93°N, 2.23°WWestbury — 51.24°N, 2.34°WWestbury — 50.72°N, 3.05°WWestbury — 55.05°N, 6.95°WWestbury — 51.82°N, 2.41°WWestbury — 51.55°N, 2.40°WWestbury — 51.18°N, 3.38°WRaisby — 54.69°N, 1.53°WRaisby — 54.63°N, 1.63°WRaisby — 54.85°N, 1.47°WRaisby — 55.05°N, 1.44°WRaisby — 54.62°N, 1.68°WRaisby — 54.52°N, 1.56°WSlaný — 50.21°N, 13.68°ESlaný — 50.44°N, 15.13°ESlaný — 50.41°N, 14.45°ESlaný — 50.33°N, 14.87°ESlaný — 50.32°N, 14.62°ESlaný — 50.26°N, 14.08°ESlaný — 50.08°N, 14.33°ESlaný — 50.23°N, 13.97°ESlaný — 50.15°N, 13.63°ESlaný — 50.21°N, 13.78°ESlaný — 50.35°N, 14.70°ESlaný — 50.36°N, 14.76°ESlaný — 50.26°N, 14.03°ESlaný — 49.71°N, 13.21°ESlaný — 50.22°N, 13.88°ESlaný — 50.33°N, 14.75°ESlaný — 50.19°N, 14.08°EHeath — 46.95°N, 108.96°WHeath — 46.95°N, 108.90°WHeath — 46.97°N, 109.04°WPardonet — 56.13°N, 123.08°WLockatong — 40.81°N, 74.02°WLockatong — 40.20°N, 75.27°WLockatong — 40.26°N, 75.14°WLockatong — 40.26°N, 75.18°WLockatong — 40.26°N, 75.03°WLockatong — 40.13°N, 75.52°WLockatong — 40.42°N, 75.06°WKupferschiefer — 52.23°N, 7.96°EKupferschiefer — 50.98°N, 9.87°EKupferschiefer — 50.98°N, 10.01°EKupferschiefer — 51.52°N, 11.55°EWest Lothian Oil Shale — 55.88°N, 3.17°WWest Lothian Oil Shale — 55.93°N, 3.47°WWest Lothian Oil Shale — 55.92°N, 3.55°WWest Lothian Oil Shale — 55.94°N, 3.37°WWest Lothian Oil Shale — 55.99°N, 3.39°WWest Lothian Oil Shale — 55.80°N, 3.57°WScottish Lower Coal Measures — 55.87°N, 3.88°WScottish Lower Coal Measures — 55.85°N, 3.83°WScottish Lower Coal Measures — 55.83°N, 3.79°WScottish Lower Coal Measures — 55.84°N, 3.73°WScottish Lower Coal Measures — 56.09°N, 3.22°WLíně — 50.51°N, 14.43°ELíně — 50.44°N, 15.13°ELíně — 50.41°N, 14.45°ELíně — 50.37°N, 14.15°ELíně — 50.37°N, 15.01°ELíně — 50.28°N, 14.07°ELíně — 50.29°N, 13.99°ELíně — 50.37°N, 14.51°ELíně — 50.35°N, 14.70°ELíně — 50.36°N, 14.76°ELíně — 50.29°N, 13.92°ELíně — 50.33°N, 14.75°ESemily — 50.50°N, 15.43°ESemily — 50.44°N, 15.13°ESemily — 50.57°N, 15.40°ESemily — 50.57°N, 15.35°ESemily — 50.19°N, 15.14°ETyne limestone — 55.11°N, 2.98°WWaaiport — 33.26°S, 23.07°EWaaiport — 33.23°S, 25.13°EWaaiport — 33.21°S, 23.05°EPennine Lower Coal Measures — 52.97°N, 3.09°WPennine Lower Coal Measures — 53.13°N, 3.09°WPennine Lower Coal Measures — 53.20°N, 3.21°WPennine Lower Coal Measures — 53.11°N, 3.03°WPennine Lower Coal Measures — 53.17°N, 3.09°WTransitional Beds — 56.13°N, 123.08°WTecovas — 33.45°N, 101.17°WTecovas — 34.96°N, 101.70°WTecovas — 35.38°N, 102.16°WGlencartholm Volcanic Beds — 55.20°N, 3.07°WWild Cow — 34.95°N, 106.30°WRedonda — 34.98°N, 103.33°WRedonda — 34.94°N, 103.43°WRedonda — 34.95°N, 103.44°WRedonda — 34.97°N, 103.46°WRedonda — 35.00°N, 103.67°WZechstein — 51.23°N, 8.89°EZechstein — 51.49°N, 6.55°EZechstein — 54.25°N, 7.67°EAlbert — 45.88°N, 64.67°WAlbert — 45.94°N, 64.61°WAlbert — 45.69°N, 65.43°WAlbert — 45.83°N, 65.05°WColorado City — 32.17°N, 101.25°WColorado City — 32.16°N, 100.25°W

Loading coastlines…

The named rock units Palaeonisciformes has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 245 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 194 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Palaeonisciformes and its relatives

Carboniferous

Where Palaeonisciformes and its relatives were recorded in the Carboniferous.

Found in the same rock

1,408 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 743 sites for Palaeonisciformes, and this reads 240 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

323 references

Each of the 1,188 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. 311 further references are not listed. 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 Palaeonisciformes

Credit
R. H. Traquair
Licence
Public Domain
Commercial use
the licence allows it

Laser scan

Licence
In Copyright
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record
Specimen
Palaeonisciformes indet. · TMNH:00864

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 itActinopterygii through timeFormations of the CarboniferousThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Hay 1902