Codlet

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Codlets
Temporal range: 48–0 Ma Middle Eocene to present[1]
File:Bregmaceros bathymaster.png
Bregmaceros bathymaster
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Gadiformes
Suborder: Bregmacerotoidei
Family: Bregmacerotidae
T. N. Gill, 1872
Genus: Bregmaceros
W. Thompson ex Cantor, 1840
Species

See text

Codlets are a family, Bregmacerotidae, of cod-like fishes, containing the single genus Bregmaceros found in tropical and subtropical waters throughout the world. They are very small fishes, and even the largest, B. lanceolatus, reaches only 11.5 cm (4.5 in) in length.

The codlets appear to be sister to all remaining Gadiformes lineages[2], even when attempting to account for possible long branch attraction. They are the only member of the suborder Bregmacerotoidei.[3]

Etymology

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Their scientific name is from Greek bregma, meaning the top of the head, and keras, meaning "horn"; this refers to their occipital ray (a spine emerging from the top of the head).

Species

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Currently, 17 species in this genus are recognized:[4]

Fossil species

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File:Bregmaceros albyi fiumana.JPG
Fossil of Bregmaceros albyi from Italy

Fossils of Bregmaceros are found from the Eocene to the Quaternary (age range: from 37.2 to 0.0 million years ago). They are known from various localities in Europe, North America, Africa, and Australasia. A few are known from articulated fossils' skeletons, but a vast majority of fossil bregmacerotid remains are only from isolated, diagnostic otoliths.[5] About 14 fossil Bregmaceros species are known, with two from articulated skeletons and 12 known from otoliths:[5]

A potential extinct relative, Bregmacerina, is known from the Early Miocene of Russia, where it inhabited the Paratethys. It shares close similarities to Bregmaceros in the reduction of the first dorsal fin, but differs in other aspects. It remains uncertain whether it is an actual member of the Bregmacerotidae.[5]

References

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