Foreyiais anextinctgenusofcoelacanthlobe-finned fishwhich lived during the MiddleTriassicperiodin what is nowCanton of Graubünden,Switzerland. It contains a single speciesF. maxkuhni.[1]

Foreyia
Temporal range: LowerLadinian,240.91Ma
Fossil and digram of the skeleton ofForeyia maxkuhni
Scientific classificationEdit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Sarcopterygii
Class: Actinistia
Order: Coelacanthiformes
Family: Latimeriidae
Genus: Foreyia
Cavinet al.,2017
Type species
Foreyia maxkuhni
Cavinet al.,2017

Naming

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The generic name honors the latePeter L. Foreyfor his contributions to the study ofcoelacanthfishes. The specific epithet honors Max Kuhn, who had been instrumental in preparing fossils from Monte San Giorgio for 12 years, including the holotype and paratype specimens ofF. maxkuhni.[1]

Description and classification

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Restoration of the coelacanthForeyia maxkuhni.Artwork by Alain Bénéteau.

F. maxkuhniis an aberrant-looking member of thefamilyLatimeriidae,with a proportionally enormous head, a curved, beak-likemaxilla,an underbite, and a low, horn-like point on its otherwise dome-like head. Despite such a bizarre appearance, phylogenetic analyses squarely placeF. maxkuhnias thesister taxonofTicinepomis,another latimeriid also found in the same strata. The two latimeriids share numerous anatomical traits with each other, strongly suggesting a close relation.[1]Foreyia,TicinepomisandRieppeliaare grouped in the subfamilyTicinepomiinae.[2]

Foreyiain cladogram after Toriñoet al., 2021.[3]

Latimeriidae

References

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  1. ^abcCavin, L.; Mennecart, B.; Obrist, C.; Costeur, L.; Furrer, H. (2017)."Heterochronic evolution explains novel body shape in a Triassic coelacanth from Switzerland".Scientific Reports.7(1): 13695.Bibcode:2017NatSR...713695C.doi:10.1038/s41598-017-13796-0.PMC5651877.PMID29057913.
  2. ^Ferrante, C.; Cavin, L. (2023)."Early Mesozoic burst of morphological disparity in the slow-evolving coelacanth fish lineage".Scientific Reports.13(1): 11356.Bibcode:2023NatSR..1311356F.doi:10.1038/s41598-023-37849-9.PMC10345187.PMID37443368.
  3. ^Toriño, Pablo; Soto, Matías; Perea, Daniel (2021-12-02)."A comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of coelacanth fishes (Sarcopterygii, Actinistia) with comments on the composition of the Mawsoniidae and Latimeriidae: evaluating old and new methodological challenges and constraints".Historical Biology.33(12): 3423–3443.Bibcode:2021HBio...33.3423T.doi:10.1080/08912963.2020.1867982.ISSN0891-2963.S2CID233942585.