Helmolepis
| Helmolepis Temporal range: Early Triassic
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|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | †Platysiagiformes |
| Family: | †Platysiagidae |
| Genus: | †Helmolepis Stensiö, 1932 |
| Type species | |
| †Helmolepis gracilis Stensiö, 1932
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| Other species | |
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Helmolepis is an extinct genus of ray-finned fish that lived during the Early Triassic placed within the family Platysiagidae. Specimens of the fish have been found in both the upper and lower hemisphere, being found in Greenland, Canada, and Madagascar. All members of the genus are small with the largest individuals only having a standard length of 90 millimetres (3.5 in) and are all fusiform in shape. The small body size of these fish has been attributed to a reduction the primary production within oceans as a result of the Permian Mass Extinction. There are currently three valid species of the genus being H. gracilis, H. cyphognathus, and H. manis.