Amyzon (fish)

Amyzon is an extinct genus belonging to the sucker family Catostomidae first described in 1872 by E. D. Cope.[1] There are 4 valid species in the genus. Amyzon are found in North American fossil sites dated from the Early Eocene in Washington USA, and several Early Eocene sites in British Columbia Canada including the McAbee Fossil Beds, Driftwood Canyon, and the "Horsefly shale",[2] as well as Early Oligocene sites in Nevada USA.

Amyzon
Temporal range: Middle Eocene–Oligocene
10cm fossil A. aggregatum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Catostomidae
Subfamily: Ictiobinae
Genus: †Amyzon
Cope, 1872
Type species
†Amyzon mentale
Cope, 1872
Species

See text

Species

There are currently four valid species included in Amyzon with up to seven species having been described.[3]

  • A. aggregatum (Wilson, 1977) Early Eocene, Horsefly Beds, Horsefly, B.C.; Eocene Green River Formation, Wyoming (synonym A. gosiutensis Grande, Eastman, and Cavender, 1982)
  • A. brevipinne (Cope, 1894) Early Eocene, Allenby Formation, Tulameen River, near Princeton, B.C.
  • A. commune (Cope, 1874) late Eocene Florissant Formation, Colorado (junior synonyms A. fusiforme Cope, 1875 & A. pandatum Cope, 1874 )
  • A. mentale (Cope, 1872) Oligocene, Osino Oil Shales, Nevada

References
  1. Cope, ED (1872). "On the Tertiary coal and fossils of Osino, Nevada". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 12: 478–481.
  2. Wilson, MVH (1977). "Middle Eocene freshwater fishes from British Columbia". Life Sciences Contributions, Royal Ontario Museum. Royal Ontario Museum. 113: 1–66.
  3. Bruner, JC (1991). "Comments on the Genus Amyzon (Family Catostomidae)". Journal of Paleontology. 65 (4): 678–686.
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