Name: Guiyu
(Ghost fish).
Phonetic: Gwe-yu.
Named By: M. Zhu, W. Zhao, L. Jia, J.
Lu, T. Qiao & Q. Qu - 2009.
Classification: Chordata, Osteichthyes,
Sarcopterygii.
Species: G. oneiros (type).
Diet: Uncertain.
Size: Around 33 centimetres long.
Known locations: China, Yunnan Province -
Kuanti Formation.
Time period: Ludlow of the Silurian.
Fossil representation: Well preserved articulated
specimen.
Guiyu is one of if not the earliest known jawed bony fish so far discovered. This has allowed researchers to push back the boundary from where these fish first evolved which has will allow for a more complete evolutionary sequence to be established.
Further reading
- The oldest articulated osteichthyan reveals mosaic gnathostome
characters. - Nature 458:469-474. - M. Zhu, W. Zhao, L. Jia, J. Lu, T.
Qiao & Q. Qu - 2009.
- Cranial morphology of the Silurian sarcopterygian Guiyu
oneiros
(Gnathostomata: Osteichthyes). - Science China Earth Sciences vol 53
issue 12. - Tuo Qiao & Min Zhu - 2010.