Sharfia mirabilis

Sharfia mirabilis; Temporal range: Early Eocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Lophiiformes
Family:	Lophiidae
Genus:	Sharfia
Species:	S. mirabilis
Binomial name
	Sharfia mirabilis; Pietsch & Carnevale, 2011

Sharfia mirabilis is an extinct species of anglerfish in the family Lophiidae. It was discovered in 2011 during a review of fossil material at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris. The fossil material was collected from the Monte Bolca Lagerstätte, one of the earliest known Eocene fossil sites. The undescribed genus was originally identified as Lophius brachysomus.^[1]

The fish lived around 50 million years ago during the Ypresian stage, making it the oldest lophiid found to date based on articulated skeletal remains. It has several features that distinguish it from other lophiids, in particular regarding its opercular bones. It probably inhabited the muddy and sandy bottoms of the inner Tethys Ocean.

References[]

^ "Pietsch, Theodore W; Giorgio Carnevale,. "A New Genus and Species of Anglerfish (Teleostei: Lophiiformes: Lophiidae) from the Eocene of Monte Bolca, Italy."". Copeia. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists via HighBeam Research (subscription required). 14 March 2011. Archived from the original on 11 June 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2012.

[1] "Pietsch, Theodore W; Giorgio Carnevale,. "A New Genus and Species of Anglerfish (Teleostei: Lophiiformes: Lophiidae) from the Eocene of Monte Bolca, Italy."". Copeia. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists via HighBeam Research (subscription required). 14 March 2011. Archived from the original on 11 June 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2012.

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