Ticinepomis
Ticinepomis is an extinct genus of coelacanth lobe-finned fish which lived during the Middle Triassic period in what is now Switzerland. It contains two species, T. peyeri and T. ducanensis.
| Ticinepomis Temporal range: Lower Ladinian, | |
|---|---|
| Fossil | |
| Reconstruction | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Sarcopterygii |
| Class: | Actinistia |
| Order: | Coelacanthiformes |
| Family: | Latimeriidae |
| Genus: | †Ticinepomis Rieppel, 1980 |
| Type species | |
| †Ticinepomis peyeri Rieppel, 1980 | |
| Other species | |
| |
Specimens of the species T. peyeri, which was named after Bernhard Peyer, are most common in the Besano Formation (or Grenzbitumenzone) of Monte San Giorgio in canton Ticino. Other coelacanths from Monte San Giorgio include a larger species (tentatively referred to Holophagus picenus) from the Besano Formation, and a species of Heptanema from the Meride Limestone.
Larger Ticinepomis specimens have been found in the Prosanto Formation of canton Graubünden, originally referred to as Ticinepomis cf. T. peyeri. A revision showed that this material belongs to a new species, T. ducanensis, remains of which were also discovered in the Besano Formation of canton Ticino. The Prosanto Formation also produced the unusual coelacanths Foreyia and Rieppelia.