Albertonia

Albertonia is a genus of extinct fish. Fossils have been found in the western Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, dating to the Early Triassic period.

Taxonomy

The type specimen came from Alberta, in the Sulphur Mountain Formation. The only species, Albertonia cupidinia, was originally described in 1916 as a species of Elonichthys by Lawrence Lambe, who then later reassigned it to the genus Dollopterus. In 1966, Brian Gardiner found that the species was not referable to either genus, and thus erected the genus Albertonia. He assigned the genus to Perleididae. In 1976, Schaeffer and Mangus reassigned the genus to Parasemionotidae after better preserved specimens were discovered.

Description

Albertonia had peculiarly large pectoral fins. Its deep fusiform body, broad tail peduncle, and well developed tail fin suggest that it was a slow but strong swimmer. It was weakly toothed and appears to have lacked pharyngeal teeth.