Sharfia mirabilis is an extinct species of anglerfish in the family Lophiidae. It was discovered in 2011 during a review of fossil material at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris. The fossil material was collected from the Monte Bolca Lagerstätte, one of the earliest known Eocene fossil sites. The undescribed genus was originally identified as Lophius brachysomus.[1]
| Sharfia Temporal range:
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Lophiiformes |
| Family: | Lophiidae |
| Genus: | †Sharfia Pietsch & Carnevale, 2011 |
| Type species | |
| †Sharfia mirabilis Pietsch & Carnevale, 2011
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The fish lived around 50 million years ago during the Ypresian stage, making it the oldest lophiid found to date based on articulated skeletal remains. It has several features that distinguish it from other lophiids, in particular regarding its opercular bones. It probably inhabited the muddy and sandy bottoms of the inner Tethys Ocean.
References
edit- ^ "Pietsch, Theodore W; Giorgio Carnevale,. "A New Genus and Species of Anglerfish (Teleostei: Lophiiformes: Lophiidae) from the Eocene of Monte Bolca, Italy."". Copeia. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. 14 March 2011. Archived from the original on 11 June 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2012.