''Araripelepidotes'' is a genus of

ginglymodi Ginglymodi is a clade of ray-finned fish containing modern-day gars (Lepisosteidae) and their extinct relatives, including the family Lepidotidae and the orders Semionotiformes and Kyphosichthyiformes, and various other extinct taxa. Ginglymod ...

an fish.

Habitat

''Araripelepidotes'' was probably endemic to the

Araripe Basin The Araripe Basin () is a rift basin covering about ,Neto et al., 2013, p.1 in Ceará, Piauí and Pernambuco states of northeastern Brazil. It is bounded by the Patos and Pernambuco lineaments, and is situated east of the Parnaíba Basin, southwe ...

, and was commonly found in

Santana formation The Santana Group is a geologic group, formerly included as the middle part of the Araripe Group, in the Araripe Basin of northeastern Brazil. The group comprises the Crato, Ipubi and Romualdo Formations and is dated to the Aptian to Albian sta ...

, and rare in the

Crato Formation The Crato Formation is a geologic formation of Early Cretaceous (Aptian) age in northeastern Brazil's Araripe Basin. It is an important Lagerstätte (undisturbed fossil accumulation) for palaeontologists. The strata were laid down mostly during ...

, mostly in carbonate concretions, but uncommon in laminated limestones.

Taxonomic history

The type species ''A. temnurus'' was formerly placed in the genus ''

Lepidotes ''Lepidotes'' (from el, λεπιδωτός , 'covered with scales') (previously known as ''Lepidotus'') is an extinct genus of Mesozoic ray-finned fish. It has been considered a wastebasket taxon, characterised by "general features, such as thi ...

'', until it was moved to the new genus in 1990.

Paleoecology

''Araripelepidotes'' was likely a toothless

suction feeder Aquatic feeding mechanisms face a special difficulty as compared to feeding on land, because the density of water is about the same as that of the prey, so the prey tends to be pushed away when the mouth is closed. This problem was first identifi ...

, due to the development of its mobile maxilla and the presence of an interoperculum, and would have inhabited estuarine and freshwater environments. It is the only semionotidid known from the Araripe Basin, except for Lepidotes wenzae.

References

Prehistoric ray-finned fish genera Cretaceous Brazil Fossils of Brazil Crato Formation Romualdo Formation Fossil taxa described in 1841 Taxa named by Louis Agassiz Semionotiformes {{Rayfinned-fish-stub