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Holocephali
| Description | The subclass Holocephali ("complete heads") is a taxon of cartilaginous fish in the class Chondrichthyes. The earliest fossils are of teeth and come from the Devonian period. Little is known about these primitive forms, and the only surviving group in the subclass is the order Chimaeriformes. This group includes the rat fishes in the genus Chimaera, and the elephant fishes in the genus Callorhynchus. These fishes move by using sweeping movements of their large pectoral fins. They have long slender tails and live close to the seabed feeding on benthic invertebrates. They lack a stomach, food moving directly into the intestine. From Wikipedia article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocephali, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source Data |
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| Rank | class (GBIF) subclass (PBDB) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomy (GBIF) | Life : Animalia : Chordata : Holocephali | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomy (PBDB) | Life : Animalia : Chordata : Chondrichthyes : Holocephali | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomic Status (GBIF) | accepted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification (PBDB,GBIF) |
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| Common Name | chimaera | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Scientific Name | Holocephali | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opinions (PBDB) |
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| Status (PBDB) | extant | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxon Size (PBDB) | 848 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Extant Size (PBDB) | 52 (6.1%) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Recorded Appearance | 461 - 450 Ma Ordovician | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Environment | marine (based on Vertebrata) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Motility | actively mobile | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Diet | carnivore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taphonomy | phosphatic (based on Vertebrata) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Primary Reference (PBDB) | D. Delsate, C. J. Duffin, and R. Weis. 2002. A new microvertebrate fauna from the Middle Hettangian (Early Jurassic) of Fontenoille (Province of Luxembourg, south Belgium). Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Belgium 48:3-83 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Common Name(s) | Chimaera, Helhuvudfiskar, 全頭 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wikipedia | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocephali |
External Images
Subtaxa
| Name | Status | Common Name(s) | Fossil Occurrences | Oldest | Youngest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holocephalomorpha superorder | listed (PBDB) | 372 | 461 Ma Middle Ordovician | 0 Ma Extant | |
| Paraselachiamorpha ✝ superorder | listed (PBDB) | ||||
 Chimaeriformesorder | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | Chimaera | 216 | 461 Ma Middle Ordovician | 0 Ma Extant |
| Debeeriformes ✝ order | listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Debeeriiformes ✝ order | listed (PBDB) | 3 | 326 Ma Carboniferous | 326 Ma Carboniferous | |
| Eugeneodontiformes ✝ order | listed (PBDB) | 130 | 323 Ma Carboniferous | 251 Ma Early/Lower Triassic | |
| Helodontiformes order | listed (PBDB) | 22 | 359 Ma Late/Upper Devonian | 260 Ma Permian | |
| Iniopterygiformes ✝ order | listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Orodontiformes ✝ order | listed (PBDB) | 18 | 359 Ma Late/Upper Devonian | 290 Ma Permian | |
| Petalodontiformes order | listed (PBDB) | 187 | 359 Ma Late/Upper Devonian | 0 Ma Extant | |
| Chimaeri suborder | listed (PBDB) | 0 Ma Extant | |||
| Trachyacanthi ✝ suborder | listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Edaphodontidae ✝ family | listed (PBDB) | 13 | 105 Ma Early/Lower Cretaceous | 47.8 Ma Eocene | |
| Gregoriidae ✝ family | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Lagarodontidae ✝ family | listed (PBDB) | 6 | 323 Ma Carboniferous | 307 Ma Carboniferous | |
| Pseudodontichthyidae ✝ family | listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Ageleodus ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | 5 | 365 Ma Late/Upper Devonian | 209 Ma Late/Upper Triassic | |
| Brachyrhizodus ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Cynopodius ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | 1 | 339 Ma Carboniferous | 339 Ma Carboniferous | |
| Delphyodontos ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | 1 | 326 Ma Carboniferous | 326 Ma Carboniferous | |
| Desmiodus ✝ genus | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 2 | 296 Ma Permian | 296 Ma Permian | |
| Euglossodus ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Macrodontacanthus ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | 1 | 290 Ma Permian | 290 Ma Permian | |
| Menaspacanthus ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Mesolophodus ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | 1 | 359 Ma Late/Upper Devonian | 359 Ma Late/Upper Devonian | |
| Metaxyacanthus ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Physonemus ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | 14 | 359 Ma Late/Upper Devonian | 272 Ma Permian | |
| Ptyktoptychion ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Thoralodus ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) |
Synonymy List
| Year | Name and Author |
|---|---|
| 1832 | Holocephali Bonaparte |
| 1873 | Holocephali Leidy p. 350 |
| 1898 | Holocephali Gadow p. 6 |
| 1902 | Holocephala Hay p. 322 |
| 1911 | Holocephala Jaekel p. 52 |
| 1934 | Holocephala Säve-Söderbergh p. 17 |
| 1958 | Bradyodonti Arambourg and Bertin |
| 1963 | Holocephali Jordan p. 605 |
| 1964 | Bradyodonti Obruchev p. 362 |
| 1966 | Holocephali Cassier p. 98 |
| 1977 | Paraselachii Lund |
| 1981 | Holocephali Duffin p. 470 |
| 1981 | Holocephali Thurmond and Jones p. 77 |
| 1981 | Bradyodonti Thurmond and Jones p. 78 |
| Year | Name and Author |
|---|---|
| 1981 | Holocephali Zangerl p. 46 |
| 1982 | Bradyodonti Lund p. 939 |
| 1993 | Holocephali Cvancara and Hoganson p. 12 |
| 1997 | Euchondrocephali Lund and Grogan |
| 2000 | Euchondrocephali Grogan and Lund p. 220 |
| 2000 | Paraselachii Grogan and Lund p. 220 |
| 2001 | Holocephali Purdy et al. p. 161 |
| 2002 | Holocephali Delsate et al. p. 25 |
| 2002 | Holocephali Sepkoski, Jr. |
| 2003 | Holocephali Kriwet and Gazdizicki p. 34 |
| 2004 | Paraselachiamorpha Goto and Okura p. 219 |
| 2006 | Paraselachimorpha Nelson p. 46 |
| 2008 | Holocephali Darras et al. p. 301 |
| 2011 | Holocephali Long p. 242 |
References
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!
