Chinese researchers discover new species of perleidid fish

Xu Guanghui, a researcher at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, displays a 249-million-year-old fossil of “Teffichthys wui” in Beijing on June 23, 2024. (Photo: China News Service/Sun Zifa)

Xu said in an interview with China News Service that his research team has discovered a new species of perleidid fish in nodular limestones dating back around 249 million years, at the junction of Jiangsu and Anhui provinces recently.

Named “Teffichthys wui,” this small marine carnivorous fish measures about 11 centimeters in length. The team found six fossil specimens, four from Jiangsu and two from Anhui, all preserved in nodular form. The discovery was published online in Vertebrata PalAsiatica, a professional academic journal, offering new insights into the early evolution and classification of perleidid fish.

Xu Guanghui, a researcher at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, displays two fossils in Beijing on June 23, 2024. (Photo: China News Service/Sun Zifa)

Xu Guanghui, a researcher at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, displays a 249-million-year-old fossil of “Teffichthys wui” in Beijing on June 23, 2024. (Photo: China News Service/Sun Zifa)