Ionoscopus

Ionoscopus; Temporal range: Kimmeridgian to Albian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
	Specimen of I. petrarojae
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Clade:	Halecomorphi
Order:	†Ionoscopiformes
Family:	†Ionoscopidae
Genus:	†Ionoscopus; Costa, 1853
Species
	See text

Ionoscopus is an extinct genus of marine halecomorph ray-finned fish from the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous of Europe.^[1] It is the type genus of the order Ionoscopiformes, a diverse group of halecomorph fish from the Mesozoic that were distantly related to the modern bowfin.^[2]^[3]

The following species are known:^[2]

?I. analibrevis Stuetzer, 1972 - Late Jurassic (Tithonian) of Germany (Solnhofen Formation)
I. desori (Thiollière, 1858) - Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) of France (Cerin Lagerstätte)
?I. muensteri (Giebel, 1848) - Tithonian of Germany (Solnhofen Formation)
I. petrarojae Costa, 1853 (type species) - Early Cretaceous (Albian) of Italy (Pietraroja Plattenkalk)
?I. striatissimus (Münster, 1842) - Tithonian of Germany (Solnhofen Formation)

In a 2016 review, both I. desori and I. petrarojae were identified as the only definitively valid members of the genus. Three other German species were found to have remains too poorly-preserved or less-studied to allow for a proper taxonomic assignment. 'I.' cyprinoides (Wagner, 1863), a well-known species from the Late Jurassic of Germany, was found to be morphologically distinct from Ionoscopus and warrant reclassification into its own genus.^[2]

The closest relative of Ionoscopus is thought to be Quetzalichthys from the Early Cretaceous of Mexico.^[4]^[5]

References

↑ Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
1 2 3 Taverne, Louis Paul; Capasso, Luigi (2016-11-25). "Revision of ionoscopus petrarojae (ionoscopiformes, osteichthyes) from the albian of Pietraroja (Campania, southern Italy)". Thalassia Salentina (in Italian): 65–80. doi:10.1285/i15910725v38p65. ISSN 1591-0725.
↑ "PBDB". paleobiodb.org. Archived from the original on 2021-12-29. Retrieved 2026-08-05.
↑ "Panxianichthys imparilis gen. et sp. nov., a new ionoscopiform (Halecomorphi) from the Middle Triassic of Guizhou, China". Vertebrata Palasiatica. 53 (1). 2015-03-15. ISSN 2096-9899. Archived from the original on 2026-05-18.
↑ Alvarado-Ortega, Jesús; Espinosa-Arrubarrena, Luis (2008). "A new genus of ionoscopiform fish (Halecomorphi) from the Lower Cretaceous (Albian) lithographic limestones of the Tlayúa Quarry, Puebla, Mexico". Journal of Paleontology. 82 (1): 163–175. doi:10.1666/04-152.1. ISSN 0022-3360.

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[sepkoskidb-1] Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2009-02-27.

[:0-2] 1 2 3 Taverne, Louis Paul; Capasso, Luigi (2016-11-25). "Revision of ionoscopus petrarojae (ionoscopiformes, osteichthyes) from the albian of Pietraroja (Campania, southern Italy)". Thalassia Salentina (in Italian): 65–80. doi:10.1285/i15910725v38p65. ISSN 1591-0725.

[3] "PBDB". paleobiodb.org. Archived from the original on 2021-12-29. Retrieved 2026-08-05.

[4] "Panxianichthys imparilis gen. et sp. nov., a new ionoscopiform (Halecomorphi) from the Middle Triassic of Guizhou, China". Vertebrata Palasiatica. 53 (1). 2015-03-15. ISSN 2096-9899. Archived from the original on 2026-05-18.

[5] Alvarado-Ortega, Jesús; Espinosa-Arrubarrena, Luis (2008). "A new genus of ionoscopiform fish (Halecomorphi) from the Lower Cretaceous (Albian) lithographic limestones of the Tlayúa Quarry, Puebla, Mexico". Journal of Paleontology. 82 (1): 163–175. doi:10.1666/04-152.1. ISSN 0022-3360.

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