Gempylidae
Snake Mackerel, Gempylus serpens
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scombriformes
Suborder: Scombroidei
Family: Gempylidae
T. N. Gill, 1862
Genera[1]

The Gempylidae are a family of perciform fishes commonly known as snake mackerels or escolars. The family includes about 25 species.

They are elongated fishes with a similar appearance to barracudas, having a long dorsal fin, usually with one or finlets trailing it. The largest species, including the snoek (Thyrsites atun), grow up to 2 m long, and the oilfish (Ruvettus pretiosus) can reach 3 m, though they rarely surpass 150 cm. Like the barracudas, they are predators, with fang-like teeth.[2]

Taxonomy

Gempylidae are broadly categorized into two clades, Clade 1, which includes more derived & elongate genera, and Clade 2, which includes more basal & fusiform genera. The trichiuridae are an outgroup.[3]

Scombroidei

Trichiuridae

Gempylidae
Clade 2

Lepidocybium

Ruvettus

Epinnula

Neoepinnula

Clade 1

Nesiarchus

Gempylus

Thyrsitoides

Rexea

Thyrsites

Paradiplospinus

Diplospinus

Nealotus

Promethichthys

Gempylidae are believed to have first evolved at least 20 million years after the Late Cretaceus Extinction event, potentially due to tectonic plate movements.[3]

Timeline

QuaternaryNeogenePaleogeneHolocenePleist.Plio.MioceneOligoceneEocenePaleoceneParadiplospinusDiplospinusNealotusPromethichthysThyrsitesRexea nakamuraiRexea prometheoidesRexea antefurcataRexea solandriThyrsitoidesGempylusNesiarchusEothyrsitesNeoepinnulaEpinnulaRuvettusLepidocybiumQuaternaryNeogenePaleogeneHolocenePleist.Plio.MioceneOligoceneEocenePaleocene

[3][4]

See also

References

  1. ^ Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2013). "Gempylidae" in FishBase. April 2013 version.
  2. ^ Johnson, G.D.; Gill, A.C. (1998). Paxton, J.R.; Eschmeyer, W.N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 190. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
  3. ^ a b c Mthethwa, Siphesihle; Bester-van_der_Merwe, Aletta E.; Roodt-Wilding, Rouvay (June 2023). "Addressing the complex phylogenetic relationship of the Gempylidae fishes using mitogenome data". Ecology and Evolution. 13 (6): e10217. Bibcode:2023EcoEv..1310217M. doi:10.1002/ece3.10217. ISSN 2045-7758. PMC 10283032. PMID 37351481.
  4. ^ Rust, Seabourne; Robinson, Jeffrey H. (2023-07-12). "Revisiting Eothyrsites holosquamatus Chapman (Trichiuroidea: Gempylidae), an Eocene gemfish from the Burnside Mudstone, Dunedin, New Zealand". Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand: 1–18. doi:10.1080/03036758.2023.2228211. ISSN 0303-6758.
  5. ^ Danilʹchenko, P. G. (1967). Bony fishes of the Maikop deposits of the Caucasus.
  6. ^ Bannikov, Alexandre F. (2008). "A new genus and species of putative euzaphlegid fish from the Eocene of Bolca in northern Italy (Periformes, Trichiuroidea)." Studi e Ricerche sui giacimenti Terziari di Bolca, XII Miscellanea Paleontologica 9: 99-107. [1]
  7. ^ David, Lore Rose (January 10, 1943). Miocene Fishes of Southern California. Geological Society of America. pp. 104-115.

External links

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