Bythitidae

The viviparous brotulas form a family, the Bythitidae, of ophidiiform fishes. They are known as viviparous brotulas as they generally bear live young, although there are indications that some species do not. They are generally infrequently seen, somewhat tadpole-like in overall shape and mostly about 5–10 cm (2–4 in) in length, but some species grow far larger and may surpass 60 cm (2 ft).

Bythitidae

Uncredited · Public Domain · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Sits inside
BythitoideiPBDB
Diet
carnivore, parasitePBDB, for Ophidiiformes
Life habit
nektobenthicPBDB, for Ophidiiformes
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Ophidiiformes

Time the record covers

At least 61 million years on record.

The record covers at least 61.66 Mya to 129 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 66 Mya to 0 Mya.

Late Cretaceous — about 0 of 138 occurrencesPaleocene — about 7 of 138 occurrencesPaleoceneEocene — about 36 of 138 occurrencesEoceneOligocene — about 33 of 138 occurrencesOligoceneMiocene — about 39 of 138 occurrencesMiocenePliocene — about 8 of 138 occurrencesPleistocene — about 15 of 138 occurrences67–65 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences65–63 Mya — about 0.5 occurrences63–61 Mya — about 2 occurrences61–58 Mya — about 3 occurrences58–56 Mya — about 0.8 occurrences56–54 Mya — about 2 occurrences54–52 Mya — about 3 occurrences52–49 Mya — about 4 occurrences49–47 Mya — about 4 occurrences47–45 Mya — about 6 occurrences45–43 Mya — about 5 occurrences43–40 Mya — about 4 occurrences40–38 Mya — about 1 occurrence38–36 Mya — about 3 occurrences36–34 Mya — about 4 occurrences34–31 Mya — about 9 occurrences31–29 Mya — about 9 occurrences29–27 Mya — about 8 occurrences27–25 Mya — about 3 occurrences25–22 Mya — about 3 occurrences22–20 Mya — about 2 occurrences20–18 Mya — about 4 occurrences18–16 Mya — about 6 occurrences16–13 Mya — about 2 occurrences13–11 Mya — about 3 occurrences11–9.0 Mya — about 8 occurrences9.0–6.7 Mya — about 8 occurrences6.7–4.5 Mya — about 8 occurrences4.5–2.2 Mya — about 8 occurrences2.2–0 Mya — about 13 occurrences61.66 Mya129 ka67 Mya0 Mya

138 occurrences of Bythitidae on record, most of them in the Miocene. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

138 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

35 formations

Boom Clay — 51.13°N, 4.26°EBoom Clay — 51.09°N, 4.40°EBoom Clay — 51.19°N, 4.32°EAalter — 50.79°N, 2.78°EAalter — 51.09°N, 3.46°EAalter — 51.19°N, 3.31°EMiretrain Marl — 43.56°N, 1.11°WSelsey — 50.80°N, 1.21°WLindos Bay — 36.09°N, 28.01°ELindos Bay — 36.26°N, 28.17°ELindos Bay — 36.36°N, 28.21°ESant’Agata Fossili — 45.07°N, 7.94°ESant’Agata Fossili — 45.07°N, 7.97°EEarnley — 51.08°N, 1.17°WTashlik — 49.06°N, 31.90°EDonzacq Marl — 43.75°N, 0.84°WCalcaire Grossier — 49.31°N, 2.25°ELondon Clay — 50.83°N, 0.78°WBarton Clay — 51.02°N, 1.32°WElmore — 50.80°N, 1.21°WAlzey — 49.83°N, 7.72°EPorters Creek — 32.02°N, 87.42°WLellinge Greensand — 55.71°N, 12.60°EBassevelde Sand — 51.08°N, 4.35°ENousse — 43.57°N, 1.11°Wfacies à Congeria — 45.05°N, 7.93°ENanggulan — 7.73°S, 110.18°EMenilitic — 49.11°N, 17.13°EŽdánicko- Hustopeče — 48.99°N, 16.91°EBlanch Point — 35.25°S, 138.46°EAgatdal — 70.58°N, 53.10°W

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The named rock units Bythitidae has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 11 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 65 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Bythitidae and its relatives

Miocene

Where Bythitidae and its relatives were recorded in the Miocene.

Found in the same rock

1,938 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 116 sites for Bythitidae, and this reads all of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

50 references

Each of the 138 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 38 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content1

Picture of Bythitidae

Credit
nobody named on the record
Licence
Public Domain
Commercial use
the licence allows it

No 3D scan was found. Smithsonian Open Access, MorphoSource and Sketchfab were all searched.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itBythitoidei through timeFormations of the MioceneThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Gill 1861