Tiny Prehistoric Fish Fossil Rewrites Evolution With Clues For Mysterious Origins Of Catfish And Carp

Tiny Prehistoric Fish Fossil Rewrites Evolution With Clues For Mysterious Origins Of Catfish And Carp

Tiny Prehistoric Fish Fossil Rewrites Evolution With Clues For Mysterious Origins Of Catfish And Carp Fish fossil Acronichthys maccagnoi was located well inland from the sea shore – Credit: Don Brinkman / Royal Tyrrell Museum The fossil of a tiny fish found in southwestern Alberta, Canada, provides new insight into the origin and evolution of otophysans, the supergroup of fish that includes catfish, carp and tetras—which account for two-thirds of all freshwater species today. The specimen, located well inland from any seashore, was studied by researchers at Western University and the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology and was found to be a new kind of fish entirely. The skeleton measures around 1.6 inches long (4 cm) and lived during the Late Cretaceous period, along with the iconic T. Rex—about 100 million to 66 million years ago. Named Acronichthys maccognoi, the discovery was detailed in a study published this week in the journal, Science. “The reason Acronichthys is so exciting is tha…