Gempylidae

Gempylidae
Temporal range: Early Eocene to present
Snake Mackerel, Gempylus serpens
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Division: Teleostei
Order: Scombriformes
Suborder: Scombroidei
Family: Gempylidae
T. N. Gill, 1862
Genera

The Gempylidae are a family of scombriform ray-finned fishes commonly known as snake mackerels or escolars. The family includes about 25 species.

They are elongated fishes with a similar appearance to barracudas, having a long dorsal fin, usually with one or finlets trailing it. The largest species, including the snoek (Leionura atun), grow up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) long, and the oilfish (Ruvettus pretiosus) can reach 3 m (9.8 ft), though they rarely surpass 150 cm (59 in). Like the barracudas, they are predators, with fang-like teeth.

Taxonomy

The Gempylidae are broadly categorized into two clades; Clade 1, which includes more derived & elongate genera, and Clade 2, which includes more basal & fusiform genera. The Trichiuridae are an outgroup.

Scombroidei

Gempylidae are believed to have first evolved at least 20 million years after the Late Cretaceus Extinction event, potentially due to tectonic plate movements.

Fossil genera

The following fossil genera are known:

Timeline

QuaternaryNeogenePaleogeneHolocenePleist.Plio.MioceneOligoceneEocenePaleoceneParadiplospinusDiplospinusNealotusPromethichthysThyrsitesRexea nakamuraiRexea prometheoidesRexea antefurcataRexea solandriThyrsitoidesGempylusNesiarchusEothyrsitesNeoepinnulaEpinnulaRuvettusLepidocybiumQuaternaryNeogenePaleogeneHolocenePleist.Plio.MioceneOligoceneEocenePaleocene

See also

References

  1. ↑ Fricke, Ron; Eschmeyer, William N. & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Gempylidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  2. ↑ Johnson, G.D.; Gill, A.C. (1998). Paxton, J.R.; Eschmeyer, W.N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 190. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
  3. 1 2 "Gempylidae". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 2024-12-04.
  4. ↑ Calzoni, Pietro; Giusberti, Luca; Fornaciari, Eliana; Luciani, Valeria; Boscolo-Galazzo, Flavia; Bernardi, Massimo; Tomasoni, Riccardo; Carnevale, Giorgio (March 4, 2026). Banerjee, Santanu (ed.). "The Ypresian ichthyofauna of the Monte Solane Lagerstätte (Verona, northern Italy): A deep dive into the western Tethys early Eocene mesopelagic setting". PLOS One. 21 (3) e0338490. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0338490. hdl:11392/2622451. ISSN 1932-6203.
  5. 1 2 3 Mthethwa, Siphesihle; Bester-van_der_Merwe, Aletta E.; Roodt-Wilding, Rouvay (June 2023). "Addressing the complex phylogenetic relationship of the Gempylidae fishes using mitogenome data". Ecology and Evolution. 13 (6) e10217. Bibcode:2023EcoEv..1310217M. doi:10.1002/ece3.10217. ISSN 2045-7758. PMC 10283032. PMID 37351481.
  6. 1 2 Rust, Seabourne; Robinson, Jeffrey H. (2024-10-19). "Revisiting Eothyrsites holosquamatus Chapman (Trichiuroidea: Gempylidae), an Eocene gemfish from the Burnside Mudstone, Dunedin, New Zealand". Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 54 (5): 584–601. Bibcode:2024JRSNZ..54..584R. doi:10.1080/03036758.2023.2228211. ISSN 0303-6758. PMC 11459795. PMID 39440288.
  7. ↑ Calzoni, Pietro; Giusberti, Luca; Carnevale, Giorgio (2025-07-29). "THE YPRESIAN FISHES OF THE SOLTERI LAGERSTÄTTE (TRENTO, NORTHERN ITALY): A GLIMPSE INTO THE EARLY EOCENE TETHYAN MESOPELAGIC ASSEMBLAGES". Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia. 131 (2) 28705. Bibcode:2025RIPS..13128705C. doi:10.54103/2039-4942/28705. hdl:11577/3557823. ISSN 2039-4942.
  8. ↑ Calzoni, Pietro; Giusberti, Luca; Fornaciari, Eliana; Luciani, Valeria; Boscolo-Galazzo, Flavia; Bernardi, Massimo; Tomasoni, Riccardo; Carnevale, Giorgio (2026-03-04). Banerjee, Santanu (ed.). "The Ypresian ichthyofauna of the Monte Solane Lagerstätte (Verona, northern Italy): A deep dive into the western Tethys early Eocene mesopelagic setting". PLOS ONE. 21 (3) e0338490. Bibcode:2026PLoSO..2138490C. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0338490. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 12959715. PMID 41779693.
  9. ↑ Danilʹchenko, P. G. (1967). Bony fishes of the Maikop deposits of the Caucasus.
  10. ↑ Bannikov, Alexandre F. (2008). "A new genus and species of putative euzaphlegid fish from the Eocene of Bolca in northern Italy (Periformes, Trichiuroidea)." Studi e Ricerche sui giacimenti Terziari di Bolca, XII Miscellanea Paleontologica 9: 99–107.
  11. ↑ David, Lore Rose (January 10, 1943). Miocene Fishes of Southern California. Geological Society of America. pp. 104–115.