Are pleco ancient fish ?

[dark_aLLeY]

hi MFK,

I am just wondering... Are pleco ancient species? Because they looked prehistoric like the bichirs and such.

cheers,
dark_aLLeY

 

[WyldFya]

They are old, but not ancient.

 

[SimonL]

Unfortunately no, Loricariidae have only been recorded from the Miocene (20-5 million years ago-ish). Seems like a long time, but catfish (order Siluriformes) have a probable Jurassic origin...199 to 145 million years ago. Fossils have been found in the mid-late Cretaceous.

While polypterus are the most primitive ray-finned fish, their origin has been placed in the late Devonian about 270 million years ago.

 

[SimonL]

On a side note, I find it interesting that plecos so closely resemble Placoderms, some of the most prehistoric fish...

 

[davo]

On a side note, I find it interesting that plecos so closely resemble Placoderms, some of the most prehistoric fish...

I'll have to look that up... cheers.