Eothyrsites ("dawn Thyrsites") is an extinct genus of prehistoric snake mackerel from the Eocene. It contains a single species, E. holosquamatus from the mid-late Eocene (late Bartonian or early Priabonian)-aged Burside Mudstone Formation of the South Island, New Zealand.[1]
| Eothyrsites Temporal range:
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|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Scombriformes |
| Family: | Gempylidae |
| Genus: | †Eothyrsites Chapman, 1934 |
| Species: | †E. holosquamatus
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| Binomial name | |
| †Eothyrsites holosquamatus Chapman, 1934
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It is one of the few Eocene-aged marine fishes from New Zealand known from a relatively complete skeleton. It was described by Frederick Chapman on the basis of a partial skeleton, but other fragments have also been recovered from the same site, all of which likely belong to the same individual as the holotype. Analysis of the skeleton suggests that it is most closely related to the "gemfish"-type gempylids such as Rexea and Promethichthys.[2][3][4]
Eothyrsites was likely an epipelagic predatory genus, similar to modern members of the group. Its presence in New Zealand during the Late Eocene suggests that the gempylids must have colonized the southern Pacific from their region of origin in the northern Tethys Ocean by this point.[2]
See also
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References
edit- ^ Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
- ^ a b Rust, Seabourne; Robinson, Jeffrey H. (2024-10-19). "Revisiting Eothyrsites holosquamatus Chapman (Trichiuroidea: Gempylidae), an Eocene gemfish from the Burnside Mudstone, Dunedin, New Zealand". Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 54 (5): 584–601. doi:10.1080/03036758.2023.2228211. ISSN 0303-6758. PMC 11459795.
- ^ Loch, Carolina; Thomas, Daniel; Robinson, Jeffrey H. (2024-10-19). "Fossil vertebrates from southern Zealandia: taonga of international significance". Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 54 (5): 561–565. doi:10.1080/03036758.2024.2363431. ISSN 0303-6758. PMC 11459763. PMID 39445052.
- ^ Robinson, Jeffrey H.; Lee, Daphne E.; Richards, Marcus D.; White, Sophie E. M.; Fordyce, R. Ewan (2024-10-19). "The fossil vertebrate primary type specimens in the collection of the University of Otago Department of Geology". Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 54 (5): 566–583. doi:10.1080/03036758.2024.2363436. ISSN 0303-6758. PMC 11459720.
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