Lepidotidae is an extinct family of fish, known from the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

and

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

periods. Most species were originally assigned to 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 thic ...

'' which was long considered a

wastebasket taxon Wastebasket taxon (also called a wastebin taxon, dustbin taxon or catch-all taxon) is a term used by some taxonomists to refer to a taxon that has the sole purpose of classifying organisms that do not fit anywhere else. They are typically defined ...

. Cladistic analysis has indicated that they are close relatives of

gar Gars are members of the family Lepisosteidae, which are the only surviving members of the Ginglymodi, an ancient holosteian group of ray-finned fish, which first appeared during the Triassic, over 240 million years ago. Gars comprise seven livin ...

s, with both being members of the order Lepisosteiformes. Members of the family are known from both marine and freshwater environments. ''Lepidotes sensu stricto'' had peg-like grasping marginal teeth and crushing palatal teeth, and is known to have consumed small crustaceans, while ''

Scheenstia ''Scheenstia'' is an extinct genus of neopterygian ray-finned fish from the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous of Europe. Fossils have been found in both marine and freshwater environments. Most species of the genus were previously referred to the r ...

'' had low rounded crushing marginal teeth, indicating a

durophagous Durophagy is the eating behavior of animals that consume hard-shelled or exoskeleton bearing organisms, such as corals, shelled mollusks, or crabs. It is mostly used to describe fish, but is also used when describing reptiles, including fossil tu ...

diet.

Taxonomy

* ''

'' Agassiz, 1832 * ''

'' López-Arbarello & Sferco, 2011 * '' Camerichthys'' Bermúdez-Rochas & Poyato-Ariza, 2015 * '' Isanichthys'' Cavin and Suteethorn 2006

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q109801647 Lepisosteiformes Prehistoric ray-finned fish families