Aspidorhynchus

Aspidorhynchus is an extinct genus of predatory aspidorhynchiform from the Jurassic. Fossils have been found in Europe, Antarctica, and the Caribbean.

Fossil of Aspidorhynchus sanzenbacheri

Description

Physical appearance

A slender-bodied fish, Aspidorhynchus had heavy scales and a symmetrical tail. It is famous for its pointy rostrum. It was a fast-swimming fish, too. Although it would've looked like the modern-day gars, it was not related to them because Aspidorhynchiformes is a separate order from the Lepisosteiformes.

Classification

Aspidorhynchus is a member of the family Aspidorhynchidae within the order Aspidorhynchiformes.

Drawing
Reconstruction
Fossil of Aspidorhynchus acutirostris
Fossil specimen WDC CSG 255, including a Rhamphorhynchus with a Leptolepides fish trapped in the pharynx and caught in the jaws of an Aspidorhynchus

References
  1. López-Arbarello, Adriana; Schröder, Kerstin M. (June 2014). "The species of Aspidorhynchus Agassiz, 1833 (Neopterygii, Aspidorhynchiformes) from the Jurassic plattenkalks of Southern Germany". Paläontologische Zeitschrift.
Fossil
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