Symphurus

Symphurus is a genus of fish in the family Cynoglossidae found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean. Most species mainly occur in relatively shallow water, including estuaries. Some species are also found in deeper water, including S. thermophilus that lives at hydrothermal vents. These species are distinguished by merged dorsal, caudal and anal fins, the absence of a lateral line and pectoral fins, and the presence of only one pelvic fin. They are sinistral flatfishes, meaning that as adults, their crania are asymmetrical, with both eyes on the left side. The largest species grows to about 32 cm (1 ft) long.

Symphurus

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
CynoglossidaePBDB
Diet
carnivorePBDB, for Pleuronectiformes
Life habit
nektobenthicPBDB, for Pleuronectiformes
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Pleuronectiformes

Time the record covers

At least 37 million years on record.

The record covers at least 37.71 Mya to 129 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 41.03 Mya to 0 Mya.

Eocene — about 1 of 10 occurrencesEoceneOligocene — about 1 of 10 occurrencesOligoceneMiocene — about 4 of 10 occurrencesMiocenePliocene — about 1 of 10 occurrencesPleistocene — about 3 of 10 occurrences42–40 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences40–39 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences39–38 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences28–27 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences27–25 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences25–24 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences24–22 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences22–21 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences21–20 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences20–18 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences18–17 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences17–15 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences15–14 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences14–13 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences13–11 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences11–9.8 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences9.8–8.4 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences8.4–7.0 Mya — about 0.5 occurrences5.6–4.2 Mya — about 0.7 occurrences4.2–2.8 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences1.4–0 Mya — about 3 occurrences37.71 Mya129 ka41.9 Mya0 Mya

10 occurrences of Symphurus on record, most of them in the Miocene. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group. 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

10 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

6 formations

Gatun — 9.36°N, 79.84°WPalos Verdes Sand — 33.99°N, 118.45°WPalos Verdes Sand — 33.75°N, 118.29°WYorktown — 35.36°N, 76.82°WCantaure — 11.97°N, 70.02°WSocorro — 11.38°N, 69.72°WNanggulan — 7.73°S, 110.18°E

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The named rock units Symphurus 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.

Symphurus and its relatives

Miocene

Where Symphurus and its relatives were recorded in the Miocene.

Found in the same rock

1,005 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 8 sites for Symphurus, 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

8 references

Each of the 10 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 Symphurus

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

Photogrammetry

Licence
not stated by the source
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record
Specimen
Symphurus urospilus · UF:Fish:117867

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 itCynoglossidae through timeFormations of the MioceneThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0.