''Blochius longirostris'' is a species of prehistoric

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

belonging to the family

Blochiidae ''Blochius'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric fish from the Eocene. It is the only genus of the family Blochiidae. It was described by Giovanni Serafino Volta (1764-1842) in 1800. Description ''Blochius'' was about 60 cm long and had a ve ...

. This fish lived in the middle

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...

(about 50 million years ago) and its fossils have been found exclusively in the well-known

Monte Bolca Monte Bolca is a lagerstätte near Verona, Italy that was one of the first fossil sites with high quality preservation known to Europeans, and is still an important source of fossils from the Eocene. Geology Monte Bolca was uplifted from the T ...

(Italy).

Description

''Blochius longirostris'' was similar to a swordfish. It could reach a length of about and had a very slender elongated body, a narrow head with elongated upper and lower jaws and large eyes.

Bibliography

* G. S. Volta, ''Ittiolitologia Veronese del museo Bozziano ora annesso a quello del conte Giovambattista Gazola e di altri gabinetti fossili veronesi con la versione latina'', Stamperia Guiliari, Verona, 1796–1808, 323 pp. * C. R. Eastman, ''Catalog of fishes in the Carnegie Museum. Part 1. Fishes from the Upper Eocene of monte Bolca. Mem. Carnegie Mus.'', Pittsburgh 4, 1911. pp. 349–391. * W. Landini e L. Sorbini. 1996. ''Ecological and trophic relationships of Eocene monte Bolca (Pesciara) fish fauna'', pp 105–112 in A. Cherchi, ed. Autoecology of selected fossil organisms: achievements and problems. Boll. soc. Paleo. Italiana spec 3. * H.L. Fierstine e K. A. Monsch. 2002. ''Redescription and phylogenetic relationships of the Family Blochiidae (Perciformes: Scombroidei), middle Eocene, monte Bolca, Italy''. Miscellanea Paleontologica, studi e ricerche sui giacimenti terziari di Bolca, mus. civico storia nat. Verona 9: 121–163. * H.L. Fierstine, 2006. ''Fossil history of billfishes (Xiphioidei)''. Bull. Mar. Sci., 79(3): 433–453.

References

''Blochius''
Paleobiology Database * Harry L. Fierstine: ''Fossil History of Billfishes (Xiphioidei).'' Bulletin of Marine Science, Volume 79, Issue 3, Januar 2006, Seiten 433-45
Abstract
* Karl Albert Frickhinger: ''Fossilien Atlas Fische'', Mergus-Verlag, Melle, 1999, Acanthomorpha Eocene fish Fossils of Italy {{paleo-rayfinned-fish-stub