Denticeps clupeoides Clausen, 1959

Open encyclopedia reference

The denticle herring (Denticeps clupeoides) is a small, up to 15 cm (5.9 in) long, species of ray-finned fish found only in the rivers of Benin, Nigeria, and western Cameroon. It is related to the herrings, but notable for its large anal fin and its array of denticle-like scales under the head, which give it almost a furry appearance.

It is the sole living member of the family Denticipitidae, and is the last surviving member of a very ancient lineage of clupeiforms, the Denticipitoidei, that diverged from the clupeoids during the Mesozoic. Studies have estimated the divergence of Denticipitidae from the clupeoids to have occurred anywhere between the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous, and that it must have occurred before the Barremian stage, when the earliest clupeoids are known. The only other known member of this lineage is Paleodenticeps, a fossil denticipitid known from the Mahenge Formation of Tanzania during the middle Eocene. Denticeps thus likely descend from a marine clupeiform that colonized the freshwater ecosystems of Africa anywhere between the Early Cretaceous to the mid-Eocene.

Wikipedia contributors, Denticle herring; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:30:11.525321+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Denticeps clupeoides Clausen, 1959

Name authority

Clausen, 1959

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Teleostei

Order

Clupeiformes

Family

Denticipitidae

Genus

Denticeps

Extinction status

Not supplied by this source

Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. gigaclassActinopterygii
8. superclassActinopteri
9. classTeleostei
10. orderClupeiformes
11. suborderDenticipitoidei Greenwood, Rosen, Weitzman & Myers, 1966
12. familyDenticipitidae Clausen, 1959
13. genusDenticeps Clausen, 1959
14. speciesDenticeps clupeoides Clausen, 1959

Close classified relatives

No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.

Browse 1 records assigned to Denticipitidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. Clausen, H. S. (1959). Denticipitidae, a new family of primitive Isospondylous teleosts from West African fresh-water. Videnskabelige Meddelelser Fra Dansk Naturhistorisk Forening, Kjøbenhavn, 121: 141–151, Pls. 1–2. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:34TVR. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.