Aspidorhynchidae

Aspidorhynchidae
Temporal range: Middle Jurassic to Maastrichtian Possible Paleocene occurrence
Aspidorhynchus sanzenbacheri
Belonostomus kochii
Scientific classification Edit this 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

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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.