Asialepidotus

Asialepidotus is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish that lived during the Ladinian stage of the Middle Triassic epoch. It contains a single species, A. shingyiensis, from Guizhou, China.^[1][2]

Asialepidotus Temporal range: Middle Triassic[1] PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
A. shingyiensis fossil, National Taiwan Museum
Fossil assigned to A. sp., National Taiwan Museum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Clade:	Halecomorphi
Order:	†Ionoscopiformes
Genus:	†Asialepidotus Su, 1959
Species:	†A. shingyiensis
Binomial name
†Asialepidotus shingyiensis Su, 1959

Its affinities have long been controversial, although it is known to be a very distant relative of extant bowfin in the clade Halecomorphi. It was initially placed with the bowfins in Amiiformes, then Parasemionotiformes, then the paraphyletic group Panxianichthyiformes. More recent morphological studies have supported it being an early ionoscopiform.^[3][4]

See also

• Paleontology portal
• Fish portal

• Prehistoric fish
• List of prehistoric bony fish