Prohalecites

{{Short description|Extinct genus of ray-finned fishes}}

{{Speciesbox

| fossil_range = {{Geological range/linked|Ladinian|Carnian}}

| image = Prohalecites sp Rasa.JPG

| image_caption = Prohalecites sp. fossil

| display_parents = 4

| greatgrandparent_authority = Arratia, 2017{{cite journal |last1=Arratia |first1=G. |title=New Triassic teleosts (Actinopterygii, Teleosteomorpha) from northern Italy and their phylogenetic relationships among the most basal teleosts |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |date=2017 |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=e1312690 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2017.1312690 |bibcode=2017JVPal..37E2690A |s2cid=89773927 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317125374}}

| grandparent_authority = Arratia, 2017

| parent_authority = Deecke, 1889

| taxon = Prohalecites porroi

| authority = (Bellotti, 1857)

}}

Prohalecites is an extinct genus of ray-finned fish from the Ladinian and possibly Carnian (Triassic) of Italy.{{cite journal |last1=Tintori |first1=A. |title=The actinopterygian fish Prohalecites from the Triassic of northern Italy |journal=Palaeontology |date=1990 |volume=33 |pages=155–174 |url=https://www.palass.org/sites/default/files/media/publications/palaeontology/volume_33/vol33_part1_pp155-174.pdf |access-date=2022-02-06 |archive-date=2022-02-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220206223748/https://www.palass.org/sites/default/files/media/publications/palaeontology/volume_33/vol33_part1_pp155-174.pdf |url-status=live }} It is the oldest known teleosteomorph, a group that includes extant teleosts and their close fossil relatives.{{Cite journal|author1=Arratia, G. |name-list-style=amp |year=2015 |title=Complexities of early teleostei and the evolution of particular morphological structures through time. |journal=Copeia |volume=103 |issue=4 |pages=999–1025 |doi=10.1643/CG-14-184|s2cid=85808890 }}

The type and only known species, Prohalecites porroi, was first described as "Pholidophorus porroi" by Cristoforo Bellotti, but it was later accommodated in its own genus by Wilhelm Deecke. The species "Pholidophorus" microlepidotus has occasionally been included in this genus as well, but it differed greatly from P. porroi in several respects, indicating that it was not closely related.

Species of Prohalecites are small, often measuring not more than {{convert|4|cm|in}} in body length.{{cite journal |last1=Romano |first1=Carlo |last2=Koot |first2=Martha B. |last3=Kogan |first3=Ilja |last4=Brayard |first4=Arnaud |last5=Minikh |first5=Alla V. |last6=Brinkmann |first6=Winand |last7=Bucher |first7=Hugo |last8=Kriwet |first8=Jürgen |title=Permian-Triassic Osteichthyes (bony fishes): diversity dynamics and body size evolution |journal=Biological Reviews |date=February 2016 |volume=91 |issue=1 |pages=106–147 |doi=10.1111/brv.12161 |pmid=25431138 |s2cid=5332637 |url=https://hal.science/hal-01253154/document |access-date=2024-02-20 |archive-date=2024-02-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240220214530/https://hal.science/hal-01253154/document |url-status=live }}