Learning Center What is a mineral?The most common minerals on earth Information for Educators Mindat Articles The Elements The Rock H. Currier Digital Library Geologic Time

Minerals by Properties Minerals by Chemistry Advanced Locality Search Random Mineral Random Locality Search by minID Localities Near Me Search Articles Search Glossary More Search Options

The Mindat Manual Add a New Photo Rate Photos Locality Edit Report Coordinate Completion Report Add Glossary Item

Mining Companies Statistics Users Mineral Museums Clubs & Organizations Mineral Shows & Events The Mindat Directory Device Settings The Mineral Quiz

Photo Search Photo Galleries Search by Color New Photos Today New Photos Yesterday Members' Photo Galleries Past Photo of the Day Gallery Photography

BETA TEST - Fossil data and pages are very much experimental and under development. Please report any problems

Melvius ✝

Photos

Photo Gallery

Source Data

Source	ID	Link
Global Biodiversity Information Facility ID (GBIF)	Not linked to a GBIF record.
PaleoBioDB ID (PBDB)	58870	https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=58870

Rank

genus (PBDB)

Taxonomy (PBDB)

Life : Animalia : Chordata : Actinopteri : Amiiformes : Amiidae : Melvius

Classification
(PBDB,GBIF)

Rank	Name	Author
-	Eukaryota
-	Opisthokonta	Cavalier-Smith 1987
kingdom	Animalia
-	Triploblastica	Lankester 1877
-	Nephrozoa	Jondelius et al. 2002
-	Deuterostomia	Grobben 1908
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1847
subphylum	Vertebrata	Lamarck 1801
superclass	Gnathostomata	Gegenbauer 1874
-	Osteichthyes
superclass	Actinopterygii
class	Actinopteri
subclass	Neopterygii
infraclass	Holostei
order	Amiiformes	Hay 1929
family	Amiidae	Huxley 1861
subfamily	Vidalamiinae	Grande and Bemis 1998
tribe	Vidalamiini	Grande and Bemis 1998
genus	Melvius	Bryant 1987

Opinions (PBDB)

Name	Rank	Opinion	Evidence	Author
Melvius	genus	belongs to Amiidae	stated with evidence	Bryant, 1987
Melvius	genus	belongs to Amiidae	implied	Bryant, 1989
Melvius	genus	belongs to Vidalamiini	stated with evidence	Grande and Bemis, 1998
Melvius	genus	belongs to Amiidae	stated without evidence	Pearson et al., 2002
Melvius	genus	belongs to Vidalamiini	stated without evidence	Sullivan et al., 2011
Melvius	genus	belongs to Vidalamiinae	stated without evidence	Cantalice et al., 2019

Status (PBDB)

extinct

Taxon Size (PBDB)

First Recorded Appearance

93.5 - 89.3 Ma
Late/Upper Cretaceous

Last Recorded Appearance

70.6 - 66.0 Ma
Late/Upper Cretaceous

Environment

marine (based on Vertebrata)

Motility

actively mobile (based on Amiiformes)

Diet

carnivore, piscivore (based on Amiiformes)

Taphonomy

phosphatic (based on Vertebrata)

Primary Reference (PBDB)

L. J. Bryant. 1987. A new genus and species of Amiidae (Holostei; Osteichthyes) from the Late Cretaceous of North America, with comments on the phylogeny of the Amiidae. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 7(4):349-361

Fossil Distribution

Subtaxa

Name	Status	Common Name(s)	Fossil Occurrences	Oldest	Youngest
Melvius chauliodous ✝ species	listed (PBDB)		2	83.5 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous	83.5 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous
Melvius thomasi ✝ species	listed (PBDB)		33	72.1 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous	70.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous

Synonymy List

Year	Name and Author
1987	Melvius Bryant
1989	Melvius Bryant p. 22
1998	Melvius Grande and Bemis p. 397
2002	Melvius Pearson et al. p. 154
2011	Melvius Sullivan et al. p. 475
2019	Melvius Cantalice et al. p. 434

References

Bryant L. J. (1987) A new genus and species of Amiidae (Holostei; Osteichthyes) from the Late Cretaceous of North America, with comments on the phylogeny of the Amiidae, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 7 4, 349-361

Bryant L. J. (1989) Non-dinosaurian lower vertebrates across the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in northeastern Montana, University of California Publications in Geological Sciences 134, 1-107

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. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Memoir 4, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 18 1, suppl., 1-690

Pearson D. A., Schaefer T., et al (2002) Vertebrate biostratigraphy of the Hell Creek Formation in southwestern North Dakota and northwestern South Dakota, The Hell Creek Formation and the Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary in the Northern Great Plains: An Integrated Continental Record of the End of the Cretaceous, Geological Society of America Special Paper 361, 145-167

Sullivan R. M., Lucas S. G., et al (2011) Preliminary observations on a skull of the amiid fish Melvius, from the Upper Cretaceous Kirtland Formation, San Juan Basin, New Mexico, Fossil Record 3. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 53, 475-483

Cantalice K. M., Martinez-Melo A. M., et al (2019) The paleoichthyofauna housed in the Colección Nacional de Paleontología of Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Zoosystematics and Evolution 95 2, 429-452 doi:10.3897/zse.95.35435

Data courtesy of: PBDB: The Paleobiology Database, Creative Commons CC-BY licenced. , GBIF: the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, various licences, iDigBio, various licences, and EOL: The Encyclopedia of Life (Open Data Public Domain). Because fossils are made of minerals too!

Quick NavTop Fossil Distribution Subtaxa Synonymy List References

Mindat.org is an outreach project of the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
Copyright © mindat.org and the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy 1993-2024, except where stated. Most political location boundaries are © OpenStreetMap contributors. Mindat.org relies on the contributions of thousands of members and supporters. Founded in 2000 by Jolyon Ralph.
Privacy Policy - Terms & Conditions - Contact Us / DMCA issues - Report a bug/vulnerability Current server date and time: April 28, 2024 11:20:17

Go to top of page