Antigonia sp.

Taxonomy

Boarfish

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopteri Cope 1871
Order: Perciformes Bleeker 1859
Family: Caproidae Lowe 1843
Genus: Antigonia
Species: Antigonia sp.

Geological Time Scale

Eon: Phanerozoic
Era: Cenozoic
Period: Paleogene
Sub Period: None
Epoch: Oligocene

Stratigraphy

Menilite Krosno Group
Menilite Formation

Provenance

Acquired by: Purchase/Trade

Dimensions

Length: 2 cm

Location

Jamna Dolna
Bieszczady County
Subcarpathian Voivodeship
Poland

• antigonia
• carpathians
• menelite shale
• oligocene
• poland
• tff.oilshale-ch1708

Comments

 This species belongs to a small order of marine ray-finned fishes, the Zeiformes. The order consists of about 40 species in six (or seven?) families, mostly deep-sea types: Zeidae (Dories), Parazenidae (Parazen), Zeniontidae, Oreosomatidae, Grammicolepidae, Cyttidae (?) and Caproidae (Boarfishes). Zeiformes are considered to be the sister taxon of a group making up the order Beryciformes and a huge conglomeration of spiny-rayed fishes known as the "percomorpha", including the Perciformes. They range in size from less than 5 cm to up to 90cm.

 Zeiformes are characterized by usually thin and deep, compressed, and oblong to disk-shaped bodies with 5 -10 soft rays and possibly a spine in the pelvic fins, 5 -10 dorsal fin spines and up to 4 anal fin spines. The upper jaw with minute, slender conical teeth is more or less protrusible. With their greatly compressed head and body, large mouth, and extremely protrusible upper jaw, the Zeiformes are successful ambush predators. They slowly approach an unsuspecting small fish by means of undulating waves of the transparent soft dorsal and anal fins. In one quick motion they drop the "trapdoor" lower jaw, shoot out the upper jaw, and expand the gill cavity, sucking in the hapless prey along with a considerable volume of water. Zeiform fishes are carnivores; they feed mainly on a variety of fishes but also consume cephalopods and crustaceans.

 This fish here is an Antigonia sp. from the menilith shales of Bircza in the Polish Carpathians. Antigonia sp. is a member of the family Caproidae (Boarfish, Capros = boar from the Greek kapros). Boarfish are small, with only a few species known to reach a maximum total length of 30 centimetres (12 in) and most reaching less than half that figure. All members of this order are characterized by a laterally compressed body that is as high as it is long. Boarfishes typically have three spines and 25 to 35 soft rays in the anal fin. The pectoral fins are rounded, the pelvic fins set below them (1 stout spine and 5 slightly softer finrays). The first dorsal fin consists of about nine to ten spines, the third being the longest and the strongest. The second dorsal fin consists out of 25 to 35 soft rays. The large eye is well suited to its habitat in deep marine waters ranging from 40m to 600m. The protractile mouth, forming a small tube when protruded, is perfect for catching small copepods, mysids, benthic crustaceans and worms. The living species are all characterized by red, pink or silvery coloration.

    Swidnicki, J. 1986. Oligocene Zeiformes from the Polish Carpathians. - Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, Vol 31, No. 1-2, 111-135.

    

    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Boarfish_(_Antigonia_capros_).jpg/300px-Boarfish_(_Antigonia_capros_).jpg picture from wikipedia