Cyclurus gurleyi (Romer & Fryxell, 1928)

Taxonomy

Bowfin

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopteri Cope 1871
Order: Amiiformes Hay, 1929
Family: Amiidae Bonaparte, 1838
Genus: Cyclurus
Species: Cyclurus gurleyi
Author Citation (Romer & Fryxell, 1928)

Geological Time Scale

Eon: Phanerozoic
Era: Cenozoic
Period: Paleogene
Sub Period: None
Epoch: Eocene
International Age: Ypresian

Stratigraphy

Green River Formation
Fossil Butte Member

Provenance

Acquired by: Purchase/Trade

Dimensions

Length: 35 cm

Location

Kemmerer
Wyoming
United States

• bowfin
• cyclurus
• eocene
• green river formation
• kemmerer
• tff-oilshale-ch929

Comments

Taxonomy from Grande & Bemis 1998.

Diagnosis from Grande & Bemis 1998, p. 247: "†Cyclurus gurleyi differs from all other species of the genus by the following adult characters A through D. (A) The body is relatively short and deep, deeper than known for any other amiine and most other amiid species. Body depth of adult sized individuals (e.g., specimens over 120 mm SL) is 35-42% of SL (Table 62), compared to 27-32% for †C. kehreri (Table 52); 19-21% for †C. efremovi (Table 72); 20% for †C. valenciennesi; 30-31% for †C. ignotus; 24-27% for †C. macrocephalus; 18-29% for Amia (Tables 3, 22, 42); 16-23% for † vidalamiines (Tables 82, 102, 112); 18- 23% for †Solnhofenamia gen. nov. (Table 122). (B) The possession of relatively numerous premaxillary teeth, more numerous than in any other amiid (nine to 12, Table 64, versus eight to nine in †C. kehreri, Table 54; seven to nine in †C. efremovi, Table 74; eight in †C. fragosus; eight to nine in †C. macrocephalus; six to eight in Amia, Tables 5, 24, 44; five to six in †Vidalamiinae subfam. nov., Tables 84, 104, 114; five to six in †Solnhofenamia gen. nov., Table 124; five to six in †Amiopsinae subfam. nov., Tables 134, 144, 154, 164). (C) The gular is relatively shorter than in any other species of †Cyclurus (gular length is 32-33% of head length, Table 60, compared to 36-38% of head length in adult †C kehreri, Table 50; 37-40% in †C efremovi, Table 70; and 39% in †C. valenciennesi). (D) There are more dorsal fin rays and dorsal proximal radials in this species than in any other species of †Cyclurus (44-46 segmented dorsal rays and 44-47 dorsal proximal radials, Table 68, compared to 36-39 segmented rays and 37-38 proximal radials in †C kehreri, Table 58; 41 segmented rays and 41 proximal radials in †C. efremovi, Table 78; 39-40 proximal radials in †C. macrocephalus; 39 segmented rays and 38 proximal radials in †C oligocenicus; 38 proximal radials in †C. ignotus).

Identified by oilshale using Grande & Bemis 1998.

References:

Grande, L., & Bemis, W. E. (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, 18(sup001), 1–696.  doi:10.1080/02724634.1998.1001111

Grande, L. (2001) An updated review of the fish faunas from the Green River Formation, the world's most productive freshwater Lagerstaetten. In Eocene biodiversity., unusual occurrences and rarely sampled habitats. Gunell, Gregg F., eds, Topics in Geobiology, Vol 18, p. 1-38.