Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 15, 2026

Caeus

Caeus is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish, closely related to the modern milkfish. It contains a single species, C. leopoldi from the Early Cretaceous of the Pietraroja Plattenkalk, Italy. It is one of the largest teleosts known from the Pietraroja formation, and is known by only a single specimen.

Last revised
Jun 15, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
286 w
Citations
6
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Caeus
Temporal range:
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Gonorynchiformes
Family: Chanidae
Subfamily: Chaninae
Genus: †Caeus
Costa, 1857
Species:
†C. leopoldi
Binomial name
†Caeus leopoldi
Costa, 18601
Synonyms
  • Caesus (misspelling)
  • Chanos leopoldi (Costa, 1860)

Caeus is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish, closely related to the modern milkfish. It contains a single species, C. leopoldi from the Early Cretaceous of the Pietraroja Plattenkalk, Italy.2 It is one of the largest teleosts known from the Pietraroja formation, and is known by only a single specimen.3

It was first described as a genus without a species in 1857, before being officially described as a proper species in 1860. Some authorities have placed it as a species of the modern genus Chanos, but further studies have affirmed it as being a distinct genus. It is thought to be phylogenetically intermediate between Parachanos and Dastilbe.345

See also

See also

References

References

  1. Caeus at Paleobiology Database
  2. "PBDB Taxon". Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
  3. Taverne, Louis; Capasso, Luigi (2017). "Osteology and relationships of Caeus ("Chanos") leopoldi (Teleostei, Gonorynchiformes, Chanidae) from the marine Albian (Early Cretaceous) of Pietraroja (Campania, southern Italy)" (PDF). Bollettino del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Verona. 41: 03–20.
  4. Taverne, Emmanuel Fara, Mireille Gayet, Louis (2010), "The Fossil Record of Gonorynchiformes" (PDF), Gonorynchiformes and Ostariophysan Relationships, CRC Press, pp. 173–226, doi:10.1201/b10194-6, ISBN 978-0-429-06156-1, retrieved 2024-04-03{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  5. Murray, Alison M.; Brinkman, Donald B.; Friedman, Matt; Krause, David W. (2023-03-04). "A large, freshwater chanid fish (Ostariophysi: Gonorynchiformes) from the Upper Cretaceous of Madagascar". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 43 (2). doi:10.1080/02724634.2023.2255630. ISSN 0272-4634.
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