''Hypsocormus'' (from el, ῠ̔́ψος , 'height' and el, κορμός 'timber log') is an extinct genus of

pachycormid Pachycormiformes is an extinct order of marine ray-finned fish known from the Early Jurassic to the end of the Cretaceous. It only includes a single family, Pachycormidae. They were characterized by having serrated pectoral fins (though more rece ...

fish from the Middle to

Late Jurassic The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 163.5 ± 1.0 to 145.0 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata.Owen 1987. In European lithostratigraphy, the name ...

of Europe. Fossils have been found in Germany, France and the UK. The type species, ''H. insignis'', was originally described by

Johann Andreas Wagner Johann Andreas Wagner (21 March 1797 – 17 December 1861) was a German palaeontologist, zoologist and archaeologist who wrote several important works on palaeontology. Career Wagner was a professor at the University of Munich, and curator ...

in 1860 from the Upper Jurassic

plattenkalk Plattenkalk is a very finely grained limestone chemically precipitated in a stratified water column under conditions where bioturbation does not occur. The reasons for the quiet depositional environment and the processes of sediment accumulation v ...

limestones of Bavaria, Germany, and placed into the new genus ''Hypsocormus'' by Wagner in a posthumous publication in 1863. A second valid species, ''Hypsocormus posterodorsalis'' was named by Maxwell and colleagues in 2020 from the same deposits. The species "''Hypsocormus macrodon''" Wagner 1863 from the Upper Jurassic of Germany has been moved to a separate genus and renamed '' Simocormus macrolepidotus.'' The species ''"Hypsocormus" tenuirostris'' from the Middle Jurassic of England is more similar to ''

Orthocormus ''Orthocormus'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric pachycormiform bony fish. It is known from three species found in Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) aged plattenkalk deposits in Bavaria, Germany. The species "'' Hypsocormus" tenuirostris'' Woodwar ...

'', and thus has often been referred to as ''Orthocormus? tenuirostris.'' ''Hypsocormus'' was a fast-swimming predatory fish about long, with a half moon-shaped

caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

similar to that of a modern

mackerel Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment. ...

. It had a single

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

, elongated

pectoral fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...

s and tiny

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods. Structure and function Structure In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two en ...

s about halfway down the body. An early teleost, ''Hypsocormus'' was still primitive, possessing primitive traits such as armored

scales Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number w ...

. These were, however, small compared with those of earlier fish, allowing greater flexibility. Its jaws were muscular and highly developed, giving it a powerful bite.

References

External links

* Pachycormiformes Prehistoric ray-finned fish genera Jurassic bony fish Jurassic fish of Europe Middle Jurassic genus first appearances Late Jurassic extinctions {{Jurassic-fish-stub