Veliferidae

Veliferidae
Temporal range: Danian–present Possible Campanian record
Velifer hypselopterus
Metavelifer multiradiatus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Division: Teleostei
Order: Lampriformes
Family: Veliferidae
Bleeker, 1859
Genera

Metavelifer
Velifer

Sailfin moonfishes are a small family, Veliferidae, of lampriform fishes found in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans. Unlike other lampriforms, they live in shallow, coastal waters, of less than 100 m (330 ft) depth, rather than in the deep ocean. They are also much smaller than most of their relatives, up to 30 cm (12 in) in length, and have deep, rather than elongated, bodies. They are characterised by their ability to retract the anterior rays of their dorsal and anal fins into a sheath.

Species

The two extant species in two genera are:

Fossil record

  • †Nardovelifer, from the Campanian of Italy; its placement in the family is contested, alternatively it might be a member of the stem group of Lampriformes.
  • †Oechsleria unterfeldensis, from the lower Oligocene of the Bodenheim Formation, Germany.
  • †Veronavelifer, from the Eocene of Italy (Monte Bolca)
  • †Wettonius angeloi, from the Eocene of Italy (Monte Bolca) and likely Virginia, US (Nanjemoy Formation)
  • an unnamed taxon from the Paleocene (Danian) strata from the Dakhla Formation, Egypt
    †Nardovelifer altipinnis
    †Veronavelifer sorbini

References

  1. ↑ Olney, John E. (1998). Paxton, J.R.; Eschmeyer, W.N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 157–158. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
  2. 1 2 Micklich, Norbert; Bannikov, Alexandre F. (2022-10-05). "Oechsleria unterfeldensis, gen. et sp. nov., a sailfin velifer fish (Lampridiformes, Veliferidae) from the Oligocene of the Unterfeld ("Frauenweiler") clay pit". PalZ. 97: 81–104. doi:10.1007/s12542-022-00633-7. ISSN 0031-0220. S2CID 252740621.
  3. ↑ Delbarre, Daniel J.; Davesne, Donald; Friedman, Matt (2016-07-02). "Anatomy and relationships of †Aipichthys pretiosus and †'Aipichthys' nuchalis (Acanthomorpha: Lampridomorpha), with a review of Late Cretaceous relatives of oarfishes and their allies". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 14 (7): 545–567. doi:10.1080/14772019.2015.1078538.
  4. ↑ Carnevale, Giorgio; Bannikov, A. F. (December 2018). "A sailfin velifer (Lampridiformes, Veliferidae) fish from the Eocene of Monte Bolca, Italy". Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana. 57 (3): 175–186. doi:10.4435/BSPI.2018.11 (inactive 12 July 2025).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)
  5. ↑ Weems, Robert E. (2021). "ADDITIONS TO THE BONY FISH FAUNA FROM THE EARLY EOCENE NANJEMOY FORMATION OF MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA (U.S.A)". The Mosasaur : The Journal of the Delaware Valley Paleontological Society. XI: 117–152.
  6. ↑ El-Sayed, Sanaa; Friedman, Matt; Salem, Belal S.; Gohar, Abdullah S.; Al-Ashqar, Shorouq F.; Amin, Mohamed; El-Saka, Hossam; Saad, Hadeel; Speijer, Robert P.; Sallam, Hesham M. (2026). "Rise of modern marine fishes captured in an early Paleocene Lagerstätte". Science Advances. 12 (23) eaec8978. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aec8978. PMC 13232593. PMID 42234753.