Atractosteus

In this article, we will delve into the fascinating world of Atractosteus, exploring its origins, evolution and relevance today. From its appearance in history to its impact on contemporary society, Atractosteus has played a fundamental role in different aspects of our lives. Along these lines, we will delve into its most relevant and transcendental aspects, analyzing its influence in various areas and its importance in popular culture. Join us on this journey of discovery and reflection about Atractosteus, an exciting topic that will not leave anyone indifferent.

Large gars
Temporal range:
~Santonian–Present,
Alligator gar
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Clade: Ginglymodi
Order: Lepisosteiformes
Family: Lepisosteidae
Genus: Atractosteus
(Rafinesque, 1820)
Type species
Esox spatula
Species

See text

Synonyms[2][3]
  • Lepisosteus (Atractosteus) Rafinesque 1820
  • Litholepis Rafinesque 1818

Atractosteus (from Greek atraktos (ἀτρακτὀς), 'spindle' and osteon (ὀστέον), 'bone')[4] is a genus of gars in the family Lepisosteidae, with three extant species. It is one of two surviving gar genera alongside Lepisosteus.[5]

The three surviving species are all widely separated from one another, with A. spatula being found in the south-central United States, A. tropicus in southern Mexico and Central America, and A. tristoechus in Cuba.[5] Although generally inhabiting fresh water, they are tolerant of marine conditions.

Evolution

The genus first appeared during the Santonian stage of the Late Cretaceous, having diverged from Lepisosteus earlier in the Cretaceous.[5] It quickly achieved a widespread distribution throughout the rest of the Cretaceous, being known from North America, South America and Europe.[6][7] Atractosteus survived the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event, with one articulated fossil of the species A. grandei being recovered from strata dated to just a few thousand years after the extinction event, making it the oldest known articulated vertebrate fossil from the Cenozoic.[8] It was found throughout North America and Europe during the Paleogene, but by the Neogene this had shrunk to only certain parts of North America, where it is still found today.[5]

Systematics

Lepisosteidae

Species

Extant species

Image Scientific name Common name Distribution
Atractosteus spatula Lacépède, 1803 Alligator gar Southern United States
Atractosteus tristoechus Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801 Cuban gar Western Cuba and the Isla de la Juventud
Atractosteus tropicus T. N. Gill, 1863 Tropical gar Southern Mexico to Costa Rica

Fossil species

Specimen of A. atrox, an Eocene-aged fossil species from the Green River Formation
Specimen of the Eocene-aged European species A. messelensis (=A. strausi)

The following fossil species are known:[9]

Former fossil species:

Dubious fossil species

  • †"Atractosteus" africanus (Arambourg & Joleaud, 1943)[10] (nomen dubium, placement in Atractosteus disputed, often placed in the dubious genus Paralepisosteus)
  • †"Atractosteus" emmonsi Hay 1929 (Miocene of North Carolina, nomen dubium)
  • †"Atractosteus" lapidosus Hay 1919 (Pleistocene of Florida, nomen dubium)
  • †Atractosteus occidentalis (Leidy 1856) non Wiley 1976 (Campanian of Montana, nomen dubium)[9]

The extinct nomen dubium fossil species A. strausi (Kinkelin, 1884) is based on a single Miocene-aged gar scale from Germany, and has often been used as the species for the Atractosteus gars from the older Messel Formation. Although this scale provides evidence for gars surviving in Europe as late as the Miocene, it is not diagnostic enough to be considered a member of Atractosteus, nor can the Messel gars (now placed in A. messelensis) be confidently placed in it.[9]

References

  1. ^ Szabó, M.; Gulyás, P.; Ősi, A. (2016). "Late Cretaceous (Santonian) Atractosteus (Actinopterygii, Lepisosteidae) remains from Hungary (Iharkút, Bakony Mountains)" (PDF). Cretaceous Research. 60: 239–252. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2015.12.002.
  2. ^ Froese, R.; Pauly, D. (2017). "Lepisosteidae". FishBase version (02/2017). Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  3. ^ Van Der Laan, Richard; Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ronald (11 November 2014). "Family-group names of Recent fishes". Zootaxa. 3882 (1): 1–230. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1. PMID 25543675.
  4. ^ Jordan, David Starr; Evermann, Barton Warren (1896). The Fishes of North and Middle America: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Species of Fish-like Vertebrates Found in the Waters of North America, North of the Isthmus of Panama. U.S. Government Printing Office.
  5. ^ a b c d Doran Brownstein, Chase; Yang, Liandong; Friedman, Matt; Near, Thomas J (2022-12-20). "Phylogenomics of the Ancient and Species-Depauperate Gars Tracks 150 Million Years of Continental Fragmentation in the Northern Hemisphere". Systematic Biology. 72 (1): 213–227. doi:10.1093/sysbio/syac080. ISSN 1063-5157. PMID 36537110.
  6. ^ Alves, Yuri Modesto; Montefeltro, Felipe Chinaglia; Cidade, Giovanne M. (2021-05-01). "New occurrences of Atractosteus (Ginglymodi: Lepisosteoidea: Lepisosteidae) from the Bauru Group (Upper Cretaceous, Brazil) and paleobiogeographic implications". Cretaceous Research. 121: 104735. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104735. ISSN 0195-6671.
  7. ^ Szabó, Márton; Gulyás, Péter; Ősi, Attila (2016-05-01). "Late Cretaceous (Santonian) Atractosteus (Actinopterygii, Lepisosteidae) remains from Hungary (Iharkút, Bakony Mountains)". Cretaceous Research. 60: 239–252. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2015.12.002. ISSN 0195-6671.
  8. ^ a b Brownstein, Chase Doran; Lyson, Tyler R. (2022). "Giant gar from directly above the Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary suggests healthy freshwater ecosystems existed within thousands of years of the asteroid impact". Biology Letters. 18 (6). doi:10.1098/rsbl.2022.0118. ISSN 1744-957X. PMC 9198771. PMID 35702983.
  9. ^ a b c Grande, Lance (2010). "An Empirical Synthetic Pattern Study of Gars (lepisosteiformes) and Closely Related Species, Based Mostly on Skeletal Anatomy. the Resurrection of Holostei". Copeia. 2010 (2A): iii–871. ISSN 0045-8511. JSTOR 20787269.
  10. ^ Cavin, Lionel; Martin, Michel; Valentin, Xavier (1996). "Occurrence of Atractosteus africanus (actinopterygii, lepisosteidae) in the early Campanien of Ventabren (Bouches-du-Rhône, France). Paleobiogeographical implications". Revue de Paléobiologie. 15 (1): 1–7.


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