Archaeolepidotus

Archaeolepidotus is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine holostean bony fish that lived during the latest Permian or earliest Triassic in what is now Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy. It contains a single species, A. leonardii.^[2][1][3] It is among the earliest known fossil neopterygians, and is usually recovered as a semionotiform, but others recover it as a parasemionotiform.^[3][4][5]

Archaeolepidotus Temporal range: Latest Permian[1] PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Archaeolepidotus leonardii (holotype)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Clade:	Ginglymodi (?)
Genus:	†Archaeolepidotus Accordi, 1955
Species:	†A. leonardii
Binomial name
†Archaeolepidotus leonardii Accordi, 1955

Although initially recovered as being from the Early Triassic Werfen Formation, more recent analyses suggest that it is very unlikely to be from the Triassic sediments of that formation. It is thus thought to actually originate from the Late Permian Bellerophon Formation, making it particularly ancient.^[6][1]

See also

• Paleontology portal
• Fish portal

• Prehistoric fish
• List of prehistoric bony fish