Dicellopyge is an extinct genus of freshwater[1] ray-finned fish that lived during the Anisian age of the Middle Triassic epoch in what is now South Africa. It was originally named "Dicellopygae" by James Brough but the name was later corrected to Dicellopyge by Peter Hutchinson.[2]
| Dicellopyge Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
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| Dicellopyge draperi fossil | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | †Palaeonisciformes |
| Family: | †Palaeoniscidae |
| Genus: | †Dicellopyge Brough, 1931 |
| Type species | |
| Dicellopyge macrodentata Brough, 1931 | |
| Species | |
| Synonyms | |
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Dicellopyge coexisted with fish such as Lissodus, Elonichthys, Ceratodus, Coelacanthus, Helichthys, Meidiichthys, and Atopocephala.[1]
Appearance
It is characterized , for example, by the short, blunt snout and a deeply cleft tail fin. Two species are known, D. draperi (=D. macrodentata) and D. lissocephalus, which were contemporaries and differed in scale and tail fin morphology.
Classification
It was initially classified in its own family, the Dicellopygidae,[2] but has subsequently been referred to the Palaeoniscidae[3] as a close relative of Acrolepis, Cornuboniscus, Belichthys, and the Amblypteridae.[4]