Eothynnus salmoneus

Eothynnus salmoneus

Woodward, 1901

Common name Jack mackerel
Fossil group Bony Fish
Order Carangiformes
Family Carangidae
Genus Eothynnus
Taxonomic status Accepted
Geological age Ypresian

Summary

Eothynnus salmoneus was a carangid, or jack relative, represented by three-dimensional skulls from the London Clay. Its cranial construction includes a large eye ring and an exceptionally high median keel along the skull roof. Those features suggest a visually oriented, active marine fish, broadly comparable in locomotor ecology with modern jacks, although the full body and swimming performance are not preserved.

Carangids are typically predators or opportunistic feeders on smaller fishes and invertebrates, and a carnivorous role is a reasonable inference for Eothynnus. The species is particularly useful for showing how diverse early carangiform skull shapes had become by the Ypresian.

Quick Identification

Look for: a carangid skull with a very large ossified sclerotic ring and a tall median cranial keel extending along much of the skull roof; strong radiating striations spread across the frontals above the orbits.

Diagnostic Features

  • Skull roof carries a tall, blade-like median keel extending for much of its length.
  • Orbit is reinforced by a large, conspicuous sclerotic ring.
  • Frontal bones show strong radiating striations above and around the orbital region.
  • Posterior cranium is deep beneath the median keel.
  • Cranial roof narrows forward from the broad orbital region toward the snout.

Fossil Details

Preservation
London Clay fish skulls are commonly incomplete, compressed, pyritised or enclosed in concretions. Thin cranial margins and projecting processes are easily lost, and separated bones can be difficult to orient; species-level identification is strongest when several adjoining diagnostic bones are preserved together.

Recorded Fossil Sites

References

  • Casier, E. (1966). Faune ichthyologique du London Clay. 496 pp.. Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History), London View reference
  • Friedman, M.; Beckett, H. T.; Close, R. A.; Johanson, Z. (2016). The English Chalk and London Clay: two remarkable British bony fish Lagerstätten. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 430(1), 165–200. Geological Society of London, London View reference
Last Reviewed
20 August 2026 Reviewed by Sam Harris