Aspidorhynchidae Temporal range: Paleocene occurrence
Possible | |
---|---|
Aspidorhynchus sanzenbacheri | |
Belonostomus kochii | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Division: | †Aspidorhynchei |
Order: | †Aspidorhynchiformes Bleeker, 1859 |
Family: | †Aspidorhynchidae Bleeker, 1859 |
Type genus | |
†Aspidorhynchus Agassiz, 1833
| |
Genera | |
See text |
Aspidorhynchidae (from Neo-Latin "shield-snouts") is an extinct family of ray-finned fish from the Mesozoic Era. It is the only member of the monotypic order Aspidorhynchiformes. Members of the group are noted for their elongated, conical rostrums, of varying length, formed from fused premaxillae. The range of the group extends from the Middle Jurassic to the end of the Maastrichtian, with a potential record from the Late Paleocene. The family and order were described by Pieter Bleeker in 1859.