Obaichthys is an extinct genus of lepisosteiform fish that inhabited South America, Africa, and southern Europe during the mid-Cretaceous period. It closely resembled modern gars, which it was related to, but differed in its spiny scales and restricted mouth gape. The genus name references the Yoruba spirit Ọba, who is worshiped in the Candomblé religion in Brazil.[1][2][3]
| Obaichthys Temporal range:
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| Specimen of O. decoratus | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Clade: | Ginglymodi |
| Order: | Lepisosteiformes |
| Family: | †Obaichthyidae |
| Genus: | †Obaichthys Wenz & Brito, 1992 |
| Species | |
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| Synonyms | |
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The following species are known:[2]
- †O. africanus Grande, 2010 - Cenomanian of Morocco (Kem Kem Group)[4], Algeria (Gara Samani Formation)[5], Egypt (Bahariya Formation)[6], Spain (Arenas de Utrillas Formation & La Cabaña Formation)[6][7], Portugal (Tentúgal Formation)[6], and France (Aquitaine Basin)[8]
- †O. decoratus Wenz & Brito, 1992 (type species) - Early Albian of Ceará, Brazil (Romualdo Formation)
Indeterminate scales of Obaichthys, formerly referred to chimera genus "Stromerichthys", are known from the Albian of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Notably, these scales are morphologically more similar to those of the concurrent O. decoratus from Brazil than with the younger O. africanus, despite the latter being on found on the same continent.[4] The species O. laevis was also initially described in this genus, but was later moved into its own genus, Dentilepisosteus, which is the only other confirmed genus in the family Obaichthyidae. Much like Obaichthys, Dentilepisosteus is known from both South America and Africa.[3][9]
Obaichthys remains have been discovered in formations representing both freshwater and marine environments, suggesting it was a euryhaline fish that primarily inhabited freshwater & brackish environments but was tolerant of saltwater, much like modern gars. Evidence for such a euryhaline behavior has been found in the distribution and localities of both Obaichthys species.[6]
References
edit- ^ "PBDB Taxon". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 2024-09-18.
- ^ a b Grande, Lance (2010). "An Empirical Synthetic Pattern Study of Gars (lepisosteiformes) and Closely Related Species, Based Mostly on Skeletal Anatomy. the Resurrection of Holostei". Copeia. 2010 (2A): iii–871. ISSN 0045-8511. JSTOR 20787269.
- ^ a b Brito, Paulo M; Meunier, François J; Gayet, Mireille (2000-12-30). "The morphology and histology of the scales of the Cretaceous gar Obaichthys (Actinopterygii, Lepisosteidae): phylogenetic implications". Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences - Series IIA - Earth and Planetary Science. 331 (12): 823–829. Bibcode:2000CRASE.331..823B. doi:10.1016/S1251-8050(00)01483-X. ISSN 1251-8050.
- ^ a b Cavin, Lionel; Boudad, Larbi; Tong, Haiyan; Läng, Emilie; Tabouelle, Jérôme; Vullo, Romain (2015-05-27). "Taxonomic Composition and Trophic Structure of the Continental Bony Fish Assemblage from the Early Late Cretaceous of Southeastern Morocco". PLOS ONE. 10 (5): e0125786. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1025786C. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0125786. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 4446216. PMID 26018561.
- ^ Benyoucef, Madani; Pérez-García, Adán; Bendella, Mohamed; Ortega, Francisco; Vullo, Romain; Bouchemla, Imad; Ferré, Bruno (2022-07-06). "The "mid"-Cretaceous (Lower Cenomanian) Continental Vertebrates of Gara Samani, Algeria. Sedimentological Framework and Palaeodiversity". Frontiers in Earth Science. 10. Bibcode:2022FrEaS..10.7059B. doi:10.3389/feart.2022.927059. ISSN 2296-6463.
- ^ a b c d Pimentel, Ricardo; Barroso-Barcenilla, Fernando; Berrocal-Casero, Mélani; Callapez, Pedro Miguel; Ozkaya de Juanas, Senay; dos Santos, Vanda F. (2023). "On the Occurrence of the Gar Obaichthys africanus Grande in the Cretaceous of Portugal: Palaeoecological and Palaeobiogeographical Implications". Geosciences. 13 (12): 372. Bibcode:2023Geosc..13..372P. doi:10.3390/geosciences13120372. ISSN 2076-3263.
- ^ Pérez-García, A.; Bardet, N.; Fregenal-Martínez, M. A.; Martín-Jiménez, M.; Mocho, P.; Narváez, I.; Torices, A.; Vullo, R.; Ortega, F. (2020-11-01). "Cenomanian vertebrates from Algora (central Spain): New data on the establishment of the European Upper Cretaceous continental faunas". Cretaceous Research. 115: 104566. Bibcode:2020CrRes.11504566P. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104566. ISSN 0195-6671.
- ^ Vullo, Romain; Néraudeau, Didier (2008-10-01). "Cenomanian vertebrate assemblages from southwestern France: a new insight into the European mid-Cretaceous continental fauna". Cretaceous Research. Life and the environment during the Cretaceous. 29 (5): 930–935. Bibcode:2008CrRes..29..930V. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2008.05.010. ISSN 0195-6671.
- ^ López-Arbarello, Adriana (2012-07-11). "Phylogenetic Interrelationships of Ginglymodian Fishes (Actinopterygii: Neopterygii)". PLOS ONE. 7 (7): e39370. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...739370L. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0039370. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3394768. PMID 22808031.