Polymixia

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Polymixia
Temporal range: Early Paleocene–present Possible Late Cretaceous occurrence
File:Polymixia nobilis.jpg
Stout beardfish (P. nobilis)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Polymixiiformes
Family: Polymixiidae
Genus: Polymixia
R. T. Lowe, 1838
Type species
Polymixia nobilis

Polymixia is the only extant genus of the order Polymixiiformes and family Polymixiidae. It contains 12 species, all of which live in deepwater marine environments.[1] They are found in tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian and western Pacific Oceans. They are bottom-dwelling fish, found down to about 800 m (2,600 ft). Most are relatively small fish, although one species is over 40 cm (16 in) in length.[2] They can be considered "living fossils" due to being the only surviving members of the once-diverse order Polymixiiformes.[3]

Classification

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There are currently 12 recognized species in this genus:[1]

The extinct species Polymixia polita Schwarzhans, 2012 is known from fossil otoliths from the early and late Paleocene of Germany and Austria.[6] Another otolith-based taxon that may possibly belong to this genus, Polymixia? harderi (Schwarzhans, 2003) is known from the late Maastrichtian and early Paleocene of Denmark, in addition to a potential earlier record from the Campanian of North Carolina, USA; this may suggest Late Cretaceous origins for the genus.[7][8]

References

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