Acrolepis

Acrolepis Temporal range: Tournaisian to Early Triassic[1][2] PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Fossil of Acrolepis sedgwicki
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	†Palaeonisciformes
Family:	†Acrolepidae[3]
Genus:	†Acrolepis Agassiz, 1843
Type species
†Acrolepis sedgwicki Agassiz, 1843
Other species
†Acrolepis frequens †Acrolepis gigas †Acrolepis hamiltoni †Acrolepis hopkinsi †Acrolepis hortonensis †Acrolepis languescens †Acrolepis ortholepis †Acrolepis semigranulosa †Acrolepis tasmanicus †Acrolepis wilsoni

Acrolepis (Ancient Greek for "tip scale") is an extinct genus of prehistoric bony fish that lived from the Tournaisian stage of the Mississippian (early Carboniferous) to the late Permian epoch.^[1] Some species from the Early Triassic of Tasmania are also ascribed to Acrolepis.

It is a large piscivorous predatory fish in the acrolepid family, which occupy an apex predator niche in its locale. Measured from the fossil specimen discovered in Germany, the species was estimated to have grown up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) in length, making it one of the largest predatory fish of the Tournaisian and Permian.

A close relationship between the mostly Palaeozoic Acrolepidae and the Mesozoic Ptycholepiformes was proposed, but support from phylogenetic analyses is scarce.^[4]

Restoration

Diet[]

Acrolepis pursued a wide range of small fish (most primarily Palaeonisciformes), sarcopterygans, ammonoids, crustaceans, small eurypterids, bivalves and other tiny invertebrates. It used its teeth similarly to the extant pike, holding slippery, scaly prey in place and pulling edible material into smaller pieces for whole consumption. It was a solitary hunter, relying on its size alone to overcome prey, and be the sole individual to consume prey. Natural threats to this creature were minimal, as other predatory creatures larger than itself (such as Sarcoprion, a eugeneodontid of the same period) were heavily isolated and distanced from this creature, allowing it free rein in its environment.^[5]

Fossil record[]

The type species is Acrolepis sedgwicki from the late Permian Marl Slate of England and the coeval Kupferschiefer of Germany. Other species are known from Carboniferous and Permian rocks in the Czech Republic and Triassic layers of Tasmania.

Specimens in possession of Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums comprise a fossilized jawbone from the Marl Slate of Durham Province.

Synonyms[]

• † Woodward, 1912 → †Boreosomus acticus
• † Woodward, 1891 → †
• † Lambe, 1916 → †Pteronisculus? laetus

Žilov coat of arms

Other[]

The coat of arms of the village and municipality of Žilov, Plzeň-North District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic, features a restoration of Acrolepis gigas in the center of the black-silver-red divided shield.

See also[]

• Prehistoric fish
• List of prehistoric bony fish

References[]

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