I'm sure everyone here is familiar with the ancient order of fish Osteoglossiformes by now. That's arowanas, arapaimas, ABF, knifefish, and mormyids. To be more specific, let's break it down to Osteoglossidae, the arowanas. This family includes Osteoglossum (silver and black arowana) and Scleropages. (Asian, Jardini, etc.)
What not everyone knows is that millions of years ago, there was a now long-gone genus of arowana known as Phareodus. You would likely not be able to guess their family by looking at them, but they were, in every biological sense, arowanas.
Pictured above: A fossil and an illustration of P. testis.
There are four known species:
NORTH AMERICA
P. testis
P. encaustus
AUSTRALIA
P. queenslandicus
EUROPE
P. muelleri
Pictured above: P. testis (L) and P. encaustus (R)-- photos of P. queenslandicus and P. muelleri were seemingly unavailable.
These primitive fish are believed to have lived from the Paleocene to the Eocene. It is said that they averaged at about 7", but have been found at up to 30". Glad to provide this interesting insight into the history of one of MFK's favorite families of fish. Hope someone learned something new.
Fossils of these fish are found for sale commonly, though at high prices.
What not everyone knows is that millions of years ago, there was a now long-gone genus of arowana known as Phareodus. You would likely not be able to guess their family by looking at them, but they were, in every biological sense, arowanas.
Pictured above: A fossil and an illustration of P. testis.
There are four known species:
NORTH AMERICA
P. testis
P. encaustus
AUSTRALIA
P. queenslandicus
EUROPE
P. muelleri
Pictured above: P. testis (L) and P. encaustus (R)-- photos of P. queenslandicus and P. muelleri were seemingly unavailable.
These primitive fish are believed to have lived from the Paleocene to the Eocene. It is said that they averaged at about 7", but have been found at up to 30". Glad to provide this interesting insight into the history of one of MFK's favorite families of fish. Hope someone learned something new.
Fossils of these fish are found for sale commonly, though at high prices.
