Quoted from Paleontology and Evolutionary Science, the team’s research shows that this Peltoperleidus fish is the oldest found in any hemisphere. The genus Peltoperleidus swam in prehistoric waters more than 200 million years ago during the early Ladinia stage of the Middle Triassic epoch.
Quoted from the mymodernmet page, fossils were previously only found in Switzerland and Italy. Therefore, the discovery of this fish fossil in China has reversed the facts that researchers knew about the evolution of the genus. Moreover, the newly discovered fossils are two million years older than those found in Europe.
The new species Peltoperleidus was about an inch long, with a blunt nose, and sharp teeth. The lower jaw of the fish allows it to open a very wide mouth to catch small prey. (Read also; Escaped from Asteroid Killing Dinosaurs, These Ancient Fish Live in Sulawesi )
The genus has a specific and complex scale pattern. This is seen in the holotype created by author Guang-Hui Xu (below). While these minnows may not have been as monumental in history as the T-Rex fossils suggest, species of bony fish still exist today.
They are known collectively as the Osteichthyes. Even small fossils like Peltoperleidus can explain the evolution of many modern species. (Read also; 66 Million Year Old Fish Fossil Found in Morocco )
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