Lycoptera
Encyclopedia
Lycoptera is a genus
of fish that lived from the late Jurassic
to Cretaceous
periods in present-day China
, Korea
, Mongolia
and Siberia
. It is known from abundant fossils representing sixteen species, and is an important index fossil
used to date geologic formation
s in China. Along with the fish Peipiaosteus
, it has been considered a defining member of the Jehol Biota
, a prehistoric ecosystem famous for its early bird
s and feathered dinosaurs
, which flourished for 20 million years during the Early Cretaceous
.
Lycoptera was a small, freshwater fish. Most species fed on plankton
, and had numerous tiny teeth. A few species like L. gansuensis, L. muroii, and L. sinensis had larger teeth and probably fed on small insect
s and their larvae.
Many specimens preserve minute details and impressions of soft tissues. Lycoptera was covered in tiny oval scales about 1.2 millimeters across, and overall resembled the Common minnow.
Lycoptera fossils are commonly found in large groups, buried together quickly in fine lake sediments. This probably indicates that they were gregarious in life, congregating in shoals
.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of fish that lived from the late Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
to Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
periods in present-day China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
and Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
. It is known from abundant fossils representing sixteen species, and is an important index fossil
Index fossil
Index fossils are fossils used to define and identify geologic periods . They work on the premise that, although different sediments may look different depending on the conditions under which they were laid down, they may include the remains of the same species of fossil...
used to date geologic formation
Geologic formation
A formation or geological formation is the fundamental unit of lithostratigraphy. A formation consists of a certain number of rock strata that have a comparable lithology, facies or other similar properties...
s in China. Along with the fish Peipiaosteus
Peipiaosteus
Peipiaosteus is an extinct genus of prehistoric bony fish. This is a very rare species of sturgeon from Jiufotang Formation, Pani Lake, Liaoning Province, China. -See also:* Prehistoric fish* List of prehistoric bony fish...
, it has been considered a defining member of the Jehol Biota
Jehol Biota
The Jehol Biota includes all the living organisms - the ecosystem - of northeastern China between 133 to 120 million years ago. This is the Lower Cretaceous ecosystem which left fossils in the Yixian Formation and Jiufotang Formation. It is also believed to have left fossils in the Sinuiju series...
, a prehistoric ecosystem famous for its early bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s and feathered dinosaurs
Feathered dinosaurs
The realization that dinosaurs are closely related to birds raised the obvious possibility of feathered dinosaurs. Fossils of Archaeopteryx include well-preserved feathers, but it was not until the early 1990s that clearly non-avialan dinosaur fossils were discovered with preserved feathers...
, which flourished for 20 million years during the Early Cretaceous
Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous or the Lower Cretaceous , is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous...
.
Description
Plankton
Plankton are any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. That is, plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than phylogenetic or taxonomic classification...
, and had numerous tiny teeth. A few species like L. gansuensis, L. muroii, and L. sinensis had larger teeth and probably fed on small insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s and their larvae.
Many specimens preserve minute details and impressions of soft tissues. Lycoptera was covered in tiny oval scales about 1.2 millimeters across, and overall resembled the Common minnow.
Lycoptera fossils are commonly found in large groups, buried together quickly in fine lake sediments. This probably indicates that they were gregarious in life, congregating in shoals
Shoaling and schooling
In biology, any group of fish that stay together for social reasons are said to be shoaling , and if, in addition, the group is swimming in the same direction in a coordinated manner, they are said to be schooling . In common usage, the terms are sometimes used rather loosely...
.
Classification and species
Sixteen species of Lycoptera have been described, nine from the Jehol Group. The table below is based primarily on the valid species listed by Zhang and Jin in the 2008 book The Jehol Fossils.| Name | Author | Year | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lycoptera middendorffi | Müller | 1847 1847 in paleontology -Newly named dinosaurs:-Non-mammalian:... |
Valid, type species Type species In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species... |
|
| Lycoptera macrorhyncha | (Eichwald) | (1868 1868 in paleontology -Newly named dinosaurs:-New taxa:-Non-mammalian:... ) |
||
| Lycoptera davidi | (Sauvage) | (1880 1880 in paleontology -New taxa:-Non-mammalian:... ) |
Valid | |
| Lycoptera sinensis | Woodward Arthur Smith Woodward Sir Arthur Smith Woodward was an English palaeontologist.-Biography:Woodward was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England and was educated there and at Owens College, Manchester. He joined the staff of the Department of Geology at the Natural History Museum in 1882. He became assistant Keeper of... |
1901 1901 in paleontology -Newly named dinosaurs:Data coutersy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list and Dr. Jeremy Montague's dinosaur genus database.... |
Valid | |
| Lycoptera ferox | Grabau | 1923 1923 in paleontology -Newly named dinosaurs:Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list and Dr. Jeremy Montague's dinosaur genus database.-New taxa:-Non-mammalian:... |
||
| Lycoptera chosenensis | Makiyama | 1927 1927 in paleontology -Newly named dinosaurs:Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list and Dr. Jeremy Montague's dinosaur genus database.-Non-mammalian:... |
||
| Lycoptera kansuensis | Grabau | 1928 1928 in paleontology -Dinosaurs:* Charles Gilmore returned to prospect for fossils in the Two Medicine Formation. He would return yet again in 1935.-Newly named dinosaurs:Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list and Dr... |
||
| Lycoptera woodwardi | Grabau | 1928 1928 in paleontology -Dinosaurs:* Charles Gilmore returned to prospect for fossils in the Two Medicine Formation. He would return yet again in 1935.-Newly named dinosaurs:Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list and Dr... |
||
| Lycoptera jaholensis | Grabau | 1928 1928 in paleontology -Dinosaurs:* Charles Gilmore returned to prospect for fossils in the Two Medicine Formation. He would return yet again in 1935.-Newly named dinosaurs:Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list and Dr... |
||
| Lycoptera fragilis | Hussakof | 1932 1932 in paleontology -Newly named dinosaurs:Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list and Dr. Jeremy Montague's dinosaur genus database.-Non-mammalian:... |
Valid | |
| Lycoptera takunagai | Seito | 1936 1936 in paleontology -Insects:-Newly named dinosaurs:Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list and Dr. Jeremy Montague's dinosaur genus database.-New taxa:-Non-mammalian:... |
Valid | |
| Lycoptera muroii | (Takai) | (1943 1943 in paleontology -Newly named dinosaurs:Data coutersy of George Olshevky's dinosaur genera list.-New taxa:-Non-mammalian:... ) |
Valid | |
| Lycoptera longicephalus | Liu et al. | 1962 1962 in paleontology -Newly named dinosaurs:Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list and Dr. Jeremy Montague's dinosaur genus database.-Non-mammalian:... |
Valid | |
| Lycoptera lunteensis | Liu et al. | 1962 1962 in paleontology -Newly named dinosaurs:Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list and Dr. Jeremy Montague's dinosaur genus database.-Non-mammalian:... |
||
| Lycoptera polyspondylus | Liu et al. | 1962 1962 in paleontology -Newly named dinosaurs:Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list and Dr. Jeremy Montague's dinosaur genus database.-Non-mammalian:... |
||
| Lycoptera tungi | Liu et al. | 1962 1962 in paleontology -Newly named dinosaurs:Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list and Dr. Jeremy Montague's dinosaur genus database.-Non-mammalian:... |
||
| Lycoptera wangi | ||||
| Lycoptera sankeyushuensis | (Ma & Sun) | (1988 1988 in paleontology -Newly named dinosaurs:Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list and Dr. Jeremy Montague's dinosaur genus database.* The dubious family, Ornitholestidae is named by Gregory Scott Paul.-New taxa:-Non-mammalian:... ) |
Valid | |
| Lycoptera fuxinensis | Zhang | 2002 2002 in paleontology -Newly named dinosaurs:Data courtesy of George Olshevsky's dinosaur genera list and Dr. Jeremy Montague's dinosaur genus database.-New taxa:-Pterosaurs:In October, a partial Mesadacylus wing was discovered in the Kingsview Quarry of Colorado... |
Valid |