Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 16, 2026

Eothynnus

Eothynnus is an extinct species of prehistoric jackfish that lived during the lower Eocene of Europe and eastern North America. It contains a single species, E. salmoneus. It is known primarily from some preserved skulls from what is now the Isle of Sheppey in England. A single vertebra is also known from the Nanjemoy Formation of Virginia, US.

Last revised
Jul 16, 2026
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Length
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Eothynnus
Temporal range:
Restoration of Eothynnus salmoneus as a carangid
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Carangiformes
Suborder: Carangoidei
Family: Carangidae
Genus: †Eothynnus
Woodward, 1901
Species:
†E. salmoneus
Binomial name
†Eothynnus salmoneus
Woodward, 1901

Eothynnus is an extinct species of prehistoric jackfish that lived during the lower Eocene of Europe and eastern North America. It contains a single species, E. salmoneus.12 It is known primarily from some preserved skulls from what is now the Isle of Sheppey (as a part of the London Clay Lagerstatten) in England.3 A single vertebra is also known from the Nanjemoy Formation of Virginia, US.4

It was originally thought to be a tuna or mackerel, hence the generic name translating as "dawn" or "Eocene tuna."2 Later, it was reappraised to be a jackfish, related to Teratichthys and Eastmanalepes (syn. "Caranx primaevus").56 It is one of the largest fish known from the London Clay.4

References

References

  1. Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
  2. Geology, British Museum (Natural History) Department of; Woodward, Arthur Smith (1901). Catalogue of the Fossil Fishes in the British Museum (Natural History): Actinopterygian Teleostomi of the suborders Isospondyli (in part), Ostariophysi, Apodes, Percesoces, Hemibranchii, Acanthopterygii, and Anacanthini. order of the Trustees.
  3. "PBDB Taxon". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 2025-02-14.
  4. 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.
  5. Monsch, Kenneth A. (2004). "Revision of the scombroid fishes from the Cenozoic of England". Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 95 (3–4): 445–489. Bibcode:2004EESTR..95..445M. doi:10.1017/S0263593300001164. ISSN 1755-6929.
  6. Bannikov, A. F. (1987). "On the taxonomy, composition and origin of the family Carangidae". Journal of Ichthyology. 27 (1): 1–8.