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First of all, the list of fish found in Madagascar - there are more than 30 species!

5ae495209b237_MadagascarSpeziesliste1.thumb.JPG.1da314818315a5633052ac7b91d0aade.JPG

5ae4952183ba5_MadagascarSpeziesliste2.JPG.5a3602639fe70475353363dfdefa12c6.JPG

 

 

So many that I can't treat all of them (and I've never seen some of them). There is relatively old, but good literature on it - Lehman has written one of the most comprehensive publications on this subject: J.-P.Lehman (1952) Etude Complementaire des Poisson de L'Eotrias de Madagascar. Kungl. Svenska Vetenskapsakademiens Handlingar. Fjärde Serien Bd 2 No 6 (in French, 244 pages, 340MB!)

 

 

 

Australosomus merlei Piveteau, 1934 is easy to recognize:

Small to medium size fish (~ 10 to 15cm / 4 to 6"), fusiform body, relatively small head with a slightly rounded snout. Its dorsal fin is located in the posterior fourth of the body. Caudal fin divided with wide lobes. Scales on the flanks are noticeably stalk-shaped.

 

Australosomus.jpg.8cf85dd75aa4bbf193b6dd3d0ef72099.jpg

australosomus-b.jpg.857f143e229ecaa7d265

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ecrinesomus dixoni Woodward, 1910

Medium sized fish with a rounded, laterally flattened body. Snout flattened. Dorsal and anal fins opposite and  broad based. Attached behind the body's midpoint. Rhombic body. Caudal fin large, deeply divided.

Often mixed up with the somehow similar looking Bobasatrania mahavavica.

 

ecrinesomus_dixoni_woodward_1910_2013072

Unfortunately the head is not completely preserved.

 

 

Bobasatrania mahavavica White, 1932
There's quite a confusion between Ecrinesomus and Bobasatrania. Even in publications the same reconstruction (the same drawing!) is sometimes labeled as Bobasatrania and sometimes as Ecrinesomus. In the first publication about Ecrinesomus, one Bobasatrania was mistakenly mixed in between.  Bobasatrania has a crooked diamond-shaped body –  while Ecrinesomus's anal and dorsal fins start directly opposite.

 

 

 

 

 

Boreosomus gillioti Priem, 1924

Small to medium sized fish (10 to 20 cm / 4 to 8"). Slender body, dorsal fin small, located before the body's midpoint. Caudal fin divided. Strong, rectangular scales.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parasemionotus labordei Priem, 1924

Small fish (up to 15cm / 6") with a rounded body, somewhat thickset appearance. Broad but short head. Dorsal fin attached to the posterior half of the body. Pectoral and anal fins small. Caudal fin moderately divided. Eyes remarkably large.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Teffichthys madagascariensis Piveteau, 1934 (=Perleidus madagascariensis)

Medium sized fish with a somewhat thickset appearance. Bulky head. Its dorsal fin is located in the posterior third of the body.

5ae499154a0ab_PerleidusRekonstr.JPG.20ece13f352035c7a9ddddeecd53d648.JPG

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pteronisculus cicatrosus White, 1934

Small to medium fish with fusiform body (less than 15cm / 6" ?). Small dorsal fin, located slightly behind the midpoint of the body, diagonally opposite the anal fin. Big eyes. Relatively long and broad pectoral fins. Comparatively small scales.

 

5ae499a0d5c7b_PteronisculusRekonstr.JPG.63def530a4dcb2fe519d34241277c76f.JPG

 

 

 

 

 

Pteronisculus macropterus White, 1933

In his 1933 paper, White described two new Pteroniscoids from Madagascar: Pteronisculus cicatrosus , which is rather common and the somewhat rarer Pteronisculus macropterus. According to White, P. macropterus is characterized by an "elongate-fusiform body; maximum depth rather less than length of head with opercular apparatus, and equal to one-quarter total length to base of caudal fin. length of pectoral fin exceeding distance between tip of snout and hinder margin of maxilla. Origin of dorsal fin above fortieth scale-row from pectoral girdle approximately. Scales in more than seventy vertical rows to base of caudal fin, and ornamented with oblique rugae only."

 

 

 

 

 

Paracentrophorus madagascariensis Piveteau, 1940

Small fish (up to 15cm / 6") with a rounded body, somewhat thickset appearance.  Dorsal fin attached to the posterior half of the body. Pectoral and anal fin relatively large. Anal fin starts well behind end of dorsal fin. Caudal fin moderately divided. Eyes remarkably large.

 

 

5802cae07c302_Ch958aParacentrophorusmada

 

722765292_ParacentrophorusnachGardiner.JPG.7518759b99ab2c21d25c60498c060571.JPG

 

 

Icarealcyon malagasium Beltan, 1984

 

Icarealcyon can be easily mixed up with Parasemionotus; characteristic are the huge pectoral fins.

Due to its enormous pectoral fins, Icarealcyon malagasium was described by Beltan as a "poisson volant" - a "flying fish" -  in the family Semonotidae (not related to what is now known as "flying fish" - these are Exocoetidae in the order Beloniformes).
You would expect flying fish to be fast swimmers - the rather thickset appearance of Icarealcyon more likely hints to slow swimmers with relatively high maneuverability (comparable to Albertonia from British Columbia).

 

Fig. C is Icarealcyon - the reconstruction is not quite correct.

 

Icarealcyon.jpg.581df0f86c04e806fcdf80d473d9d1a0.jpg.1ddb70c3a934219dd43d6ea0e760f163.jpg 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saurichthys madagascariensis Piveteau, 1945

Medium sized fish with elongated, streamlined jaws. Head elongated. Dorsal fin almost at the end of the body, opposite the anal fin. Small scales.

 

 

 

 

 

Whiteia woodwardi Moy-Thomas, 1935

Massive body. Pectoral fin attached slightly before the first dorsal fin.

Whiteia.jpg.fe8ff4e0c3d849553391e795ce216182.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Piveteauia madagascariensis Lehman 1952

More slender body. Pectoral fin attached well before first dorsal fin lobe. Ventral fin opposite to first dorsal fin lobe.

piveteauia.JPG.1cc7afc9fd411745bde573447495c6e0.JPG

 

 

 

 

 

Have fun

Thomas

 

PS: If you are interested in Lehman's paper send me a PM with your email address (remember - 340MB!)

Edited by oilshale
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Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes (Confucius, 551 BC - 479 BC).

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Brilliant, thank you so much for this comprehensive and detailed study of Triassic Malagasy fish, @oilshale.

 

I've been trying to compare my own Malagasy fish with some of the specimens shown here, but I'm finding it quite hard to match them.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated! As @oilshale mentioned in another thread, the one in the 2nd image looks to be a Pteronisculus - I will try and post better images in a better light tomorrow.

 

Hopefully one of them is Coelacanth!

 

Thanks again!

 

Images in highest quality:

https://imgur.com/a/n46SHCD

Edited by SnazzyMax
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Excellent thread, thank you@oilshale ! I was actually thinking of making a similar one myself as I have several Sakamena fm. fishes (and more) to show. It is an exciting and relatively inexpensive fauna to collect but unfortunately not easy to find information on (a lot of the papers are not easily had.)

This thread should serve as a good resource for people looking to get into this exciting post-extinction biota.

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  • Fossildude19 changed the title to The Triassic fishes from Madagascar: A Guide
  • Fossildude19 pinned this topic
20 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Brilliant. :)

Very useful, this should be pinned. 

 

15 hours ago, Ludwigia said:

Excellent! Thanks, Thomas. I agree with Adam that this should be pinned. Do you agree @Fossildude19 ?

 

DONE! :) 

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    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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30 -35 rows of fairly thick quadrilateral slightly obliquely arranged scales, semi-heterocercal tail,

low pectoral fin insertion on the cleithrum, notes on ecology, comparison with Cypselurus.

 

 

specicgghkkitopugyytykkanguujjjiidp88humb.jpg

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Thanks for the review of the Sakamena icthyofauna, I'm sure it'll be useful! Any chance of some literature on the Sakamena Fm. tetrapods? 

Opalised fossils are the best: a wonderful mix between paleontology and mineralogy!

 

Q. Where do dinosaurs study?

A. At Khaan Academy!...

 

My ResearchGate profile

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  • 3 weeks later...

Just a reminder to NOT post links to outside sales sources.  ;) 

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    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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__________________________________________________
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

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  • 2 years later...

Hi All,

 

would anyone have a link to the original paper?

 

Etude complémentaire des possions

de l’Eotrias de Madagascar

 

thanks

 

Rodney 

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Here you go:

Etude complimentaire Madagascar Lehman 1.pdf

Etude complimentaire Madagascar Lehman 2.pdf

Etude complimentaire Madagascar Lehman 3.pdf

I also have a better copy, but it has more than 350MB.

I have attached a list of publications about fishes from Madagascar. I can provide the green marked literature. Sorry, not complete and not up to date.

Madagascar Lit new.docx

 

Edited by oilshale
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Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes (Confucius, 551 BC - 479 BC).

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Many, many, many (times 340 million,and then squared!) Thanks.

This is as rare a bit of paleo-ichthyological literature as it gets.

SIMPLY HUMONGOUS:tiphat::):notworthy:

 

If you come across Aldinger's "ganoidfische"...:ninja:

 

 

 

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46 minutes ago, doushantuo said:

If you come across Aldinger's "ganoidfische"...:ninja:

Aldinger: Permische Ganoidfische aus Ostgrönland?

Sorry, I do not own that.

Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes (Confucius, 551 BC - 479 BC).

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  • 3 months later...
On 4/14/2023 at 10:20 PM, oilshale said:

Here you go:

Etude complimentaire Madagascar Lehman 1.pdf 10.19 MB · 3 downloads

Etude complimentaire Madagascar Lehman 2.pdf 9.96 MB · 4 downloads

Etude complimentaire Madagascar Lehman 3.pdf 9.61 MB · 2 downloads

I also have a better copy, but it has more than 350MB.

I have attached a list of publications about fishes from Madagascar. I can provide the green marked literature. Sorry, not complete and not up to date.

Madagascar Lit new.docx 19.08 kB · 2 downloads

thank you

On 4/14/2023 at 10:20 PM, oilshale said:

 

 

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