Aspidorhynchus

Aspidorhynchus
Temporal range: Middle Jurassic–Berriasian
Specimen of A. sanzenbacheri, Jura Museum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: †Aspidorhynchiformes
Family: †Aspidorhynchidae
Genus: †Aspidorhynchus
Agassiz, 1833
Type species
†Aspidorhynchus acutirostris
Species

See text

Aspidorhynchus is an extinct genus of predatory aspidorhynchiform from the Jurassic. Fossils have been found in Europe, Antarctica, and the Caribbean.

Description

Physical appearance

A slender-bodied fish, Aspidorhynchus had heavy scales and a symmetrical tail. It is famous for its pointy rostrum. It was a fast-swimming fish, too. Although it would've looked like the modern-day gars, it was not related to them because Aspidorhynchiformes is a separate order from the Lepisosteiformes.

Classification

Aspidorhynchus is a member of the family Aspidorhynchidae within the order Aspidorhynchiformes.

Drawing
Reconstruction
Fossil of Aspidorhynchus acutirostris
Fossil specimen WDC CSG 255, including a Rhamphorhynchus with a Leptolepides fish trapped in the pharynx and caught in the jaws of an Aspidorhynchus

References

  1. López-Arbarello, Adriana; Schröder, Kerstin M. (June 2014). "The species of Aspidorhynchus Agassiz, 1833 (Neopterygii, Aspidorhynchiformes) from the Jurassic plattenkalks of Southern Germany". Paläontologische Zeitschrift.
Fossil