Zignoichthys

Zignoichthys oblongus is an extinct prehistoric relative of the pufferfish and porcupine fish that lived during the Lutetian epoch of the Eocene. Z. oblongus fossils are found from the Monte Bolca lagerstätte of what is now Italy.

Zignoichthys
Artist's reconstruction
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Tetraodontiformes
Family:	†Zignoichthyidae
Genus:	†Zignoichthys Tyler, 1975
Species:	†Z. oblongus
Binomial name
†Zignoichthys oblongus Tyler, 1975

It lacked a pelvis, and probably could not inflate its body like its modern-day relatives. In life, it would have resembled a paunchy triggerfish or a pufferfish with an elongated, downturned face.

See also

• List of prehistoric bony fish
• Iraniplectus, a close relative from Oligocene Iran
• Eotetraodon, a genus of primitive pufferfish, one species, E. pygmaeus, lived sympatrically with Z. oblongus