Elonichthys is an extinct genus of prehistoric freshwater ray-finned fish known from the late Paleozoic. The genus sensu stricto contains three species known from the latest Carboniferous to the earliest Permian of freshwater ecosystems of Europe, but as a former wastebasket taxon, it contains many more dubiously-classified species from the Carboniferous and Permian of Europe, Greenland, South Africa, and North America.

Species

The following are species within Elonichthys sensu stricto:

  • E. germari Giebel, 1848 (type species) - Late Carboniferous (Gzhelian) of Germany (Siebigerode Formation)
  • E. fritschi Friedrich, 1878 - Early Permian (Asselian) of Germany (Meisenheim Formation)
  • E. krejcii (Fritsch, 1895) - Gzhelian of the Czech Republic (Slaný Formation)

Former species

The following are more dubious species that were formerly classified into this genus. However, the majority have been found to no longer even be members of Elonichthyidae.

Fossil of "E." peltigerus in the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago

The following other dubious species are also known:

  • Elonichthys disjunctus
  • Elonichthys hypsilepus
  • Elonichthys perpennatus
  • Elonichthys punctatus
  • Elonichthys whaitsi

See also