Amiopsis lepidota Agassiz 1833

Taxonomy

Bowfin

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopteri Cope 1871
Order: Amiiformes Hay 1929
Family: Amiidae Bonaparte 1838
Genus: Amiopsis
Species: Amiopsis lepidota
Author Citation Agassiz 1833

Geological Time Scale

Eon: Phanerozoic
Era: Mesozoic
Period: Jurassic
Sub Period: None
Epoch: Late
International Age: Tithonian

Stratigraphy

Weissjura Group
Solnhofen Limestone Formation

Biostratigraphy

Hybonoticeras hybonotum Zone
Subplanites rueppelianus Subzone

Provenance

Acquired by: Purchase/Trade

Dimensions

Length: 38 cm

Location

Solnhofen Haardt
Weissenburg-Gunzenhausen District
Bavaria
Germany

• amiopsis
• bowfin
• jurassic
• solnhofen
• tff-oilshale-ch77
• tithonian

Comments

Emended species diagnosis from Grande & Bemis 1998, p. 493: "Amiopsis lepidota differs from other species of the genus by the following adult characters A through D (note there is a range of overlap between some species for characters B, C, and D). (A) The opercle is wider than in other species of the genus (0.96-1.00 compared to 0.77-0.83 in †A. woodwardi, 0.91-0.92 in †A. damoni, 0.82 in †A. dolloi, and an estimated 0.80 in †A. prisca, based on our study sample). (B) There are seven to nine procurrent epaxial caudal rays (versus five or six in †A. damoni, and three in †A. dolloi; the count in †A. prisca is unknown, and the count of †A. woodwardi is within the range of †A. lepidota). (C) There are 61-65 total centra and 48-52 total vertebrae in post-juvenile stages (versus 58-61 centra and 45-48 vertebrae in †A. woodwardi, 59-60 centra and 47 vertebrae in †A. damoni, 56-57 centra and 46 vertebrae in †A. dolloi, and 70-74 centra and 55-56 vertebrae in †A. prisca). (D) There are 17-19 dorsal proximal radials (versus 14-16 in †A. woodwardi, and 15-17 in †A. dolloi; †A. damoni and †A. prisca are within the range of †A. lepidota).

Line drawing from Grande & Bemis 1998, p. 497:

Identified by oilshale using Grande & Bemis 1998.

References:

Grande, L. & Bemis, W. (1998) A Comprehensive Phylogenetic Study of Amiid Fishes (Amiidae) Based on Comparative Skeletal Anatomy. an Empirical Search for Interconnected Patterns of Natural History. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Vol. 18, 1998, Issue Supp-001, pp. 1-696..