Changxingia is a
genus of
prehistoric marine
lobe-finned fish that belonged to the
coelacanth family
Mawsoniidae. It lived during the
Late Permian in
Zhejiang, southern China.[1] It contains two species, C. aspiratilis Wang & Liu, 1981 (the type species) and C. weii Jin, 1997, which were named in 1981 and 1997 from specimens found at the same locality. They are the first Permian marine coelacanths found in Asia.[2][3]
It is thought to be the oldest known representative of the family
Mawsoniidae, which are related to the extant
latimeriids, although this placement has been disputed and little taxonomic analysis has been done to verify it.[4][5]
It is named after the
Changxing Formation, the geological formation it was found in, which also gives its name to the
Changhsingian, the final stage of the Permian period.[6]