Lopholatilus ereborensis

Lopholatilus ereborensis is an extinct species of tilefish found in formations at Calvert Cliffs State Park in Lusby, Maryland. The species lived in the Salisbury Embayment in the Western North Atlantic during the Miocene era, 16 million years ago.[2] The species is believed to have dug long, funnel-shaped vertical burrows in the continental shelf, the collapse of which may account for the remarkable preservation of the fossils.[1] The species measured 18 inches (46 cm) long. The name is derived from "Erebor", the Elvish name for the Lonely Mountain from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.[2]

Lopholatilus ereborensis
Temporal range: 16 Ma
↓
Miocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Actinopterygii
Order:
Perciformes
Family:
Malacanthidae
Genus:
Lopholatilus
Species:
L. ereborensis
Binomial name
Lopholatilus ereborensis
Carnevale & Godfrey, 2014[1]

References
  1. Carnevale, Giorgio; Godfrey, Stephen J. (9 September 2014). "Tilefish (Teleostei, Malacanthidae) remains from the Miocene Calvert Formation, Maryland and Virginia: taxonomical and paleoecological remarks". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 34 (5): 1018–1032. doi:10.1080/02724634.2014.845202.
  2. "New tunneling prehistoric fish found at Calvert Cliffs". TheBayNet.com. 20 September 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2014.


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