The denticle herring (Denticeps clupeoides) is a small, up to 15 cm (5.9 in) long, species of ray-finned fish found only in the rivers of Benin, Nigeria, and western Cameroon.[1] It is related to the herrings, but notable for its large anal fin and its array of denticle-like scales under the head, which give it almost a furry appearance.
| Denticle herring | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Clupeiformes |
| Suborder: | Denticipitoidei |
| Family: | Denticipitidae Clausen, 1959 |
| Genus: | Denticeps Clausen, 1959 |
| Species: | D. clupeoides
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| Binomial name | |
| Denticeps clupeoides Clausen, 1959
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It is the sole living member of the family Denticipitidae, and is the last surviving member of a very ancient lineage of clupeiforms, the Denticipitoidei, that diverged from the clupeoids during the Mesozoic. Studies have estimated the divergence of Denticipitidae from the clupeoids to have occurred anywhere between the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous, and that it must have occurred before the Barremian stage, when the earliest clupeoids are known.[2][3] The only other known member of this lineage is Paleodenticeps, a fossil denticipitid that inhabited freshwater habitats in Kenya during the middle Eocene. Denticeps thus likely descends from a marine clupeiform that colonized the freshwater ecosystems of Africa anywhere between the Early Cretaceous to the mid-Eocene.[3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Denticeps clupeoides, Denticle herring : fisheries". fishbase.mnhn.fr. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
- ^ Malabarba, Maria C.; Dario, Fabio Di (2017). "A new predatory herring-like fish (Teleostei: Clupeiformes) from the early Cretaceous of Brazil, and implications for relationships in the Clupeoidei". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 180 (1): 175–194.
- ^ a b Lavoué, Sébastien (2020). "Origins of Afrotropical freshwater fishes". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 188: 345–411.
- "Denticeps clupeoides". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 11 March 2006.
- P. H. Greenwood, The osteology and relationships of the Denticipitidae, a family of Clupeomorph fishes (London: British Museum, 1968)
- Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Denticeps clupeoides". FishBase. June 2011 version.