Aspidorhynchidae (from
Neo-Latin
Neo-LatinSidwell, Keith ''Classical Latin-Medieval Latin-Neo Latin'' in ; others, throughout. (also known as New Latin and Modern Latin) is the style of written Latin used in original literary, scholarly, and scientific works, first in Italy d ...
"shield-snouts") is an
extinct
Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
of
ray-finned fish
Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...
from the
Mesozoic Era
The Mesozoic Era is the era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. It is characterized by the dominance of archosaurian reptiles such as the dinosaurs, and of gymnosperms s ...
. It is the only member of the
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...
order
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
...
Aspidorhynchiformes. Members of the group are noted for their elongated, conical
rostrums, of varying length, formed from fused
premaxilla
The premaxilla (or praemaxilla) is one of a pair of small cranial bones at the very tip of the upper jaw of many animals, usually, but not always, bearing teeth. In humans, they are fused with the maxilla. The "premaxilla" of therian mammals h ...
e. The range of the group extends from the
Middle Jurassic
The Middle Jurassic is the second Epoch (geology), epoch of the Jurassic Period (geology), Period. It lasted from about 174.1 to 161.5 million years ago. Fossils of land-dwelling animals, such as dinosaurs, from the Middle Jurassic are relativel ...
to the end of the
Maastrichtian
The Maastrichtian ( ) is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) geologic timescale, the latest age (geology), age (uppermost stage (stratigraphy), stage) of the Late Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or Upper Cretaceous series (s ...
, with a potential record from the
Late Paleocene
The Thanetian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy, ICS Geologic timescale, the latest age (geology), age or uppermost stage (stratigraphy), stratigraphic stage of the Paleocene epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), Serie ...
. The family and order were described by
Pieter Bleeker
Pieter Bleeker (10 July 1819 – 24 January 1878) was a Dutch medical doctor, Ichthyology, ichthyologist, and Herpetology, herpetologist. He was famous for the ''Atlas Ichthyologique des Indes Orientales Néêrlandaises'', his monumental work on ...
in 1859.
Taxonomy
Aspidorhynchiformes have generally been recovered as basal members of
Teleosteomorpha
Teleosteomorpha is an infraclass of ray-finned fishes containing all teleost fish and their closest extinct relatives. Also in this group are two diverse Mesozoic fish orders, the Aspidorhynchiformes and the Pachycormiformes. Several other non- ...
, more closely related to
teleosts
Teleostei (; Greek ''teleios'' "complete" + ''osteon'' "bone"), members of which are known as teleosts (), is, by far, the largest group of ray-finned fishes (class Actinopterygii), with 96% of all extant species of fish. The Teleostei, which i ...
than to
Holostei
Holostei is a group of ray-finned bony fish. It is divided into two major clades, the Halecomorphi, represented by the single living genus, '' Amia'' with two species, the bowfins (''Amia calva'' and '' Amia ocellicauda''), as well as the Gin ...
. They have often considered to have a
sister group
In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree.
Definition
The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram:
Taxon A and ...
relationship with
Pachycormiformes, another group of basal teleosteomorphs. However, other studies instead suggest that they successively diverged after one another, with the aspidorhynchids actually being closer to the teleosts than the pachycormids.
Aspidorhynchiformes has one family, which is divided into at least two genera:
* Order †Aspidorhynchiformes
Bleeker 1859 Bleeker 1859">spidorhynchida; Aspidorhynchoidei Bleeker 1859** Family †Aspidorhynchidae
Bleeker 1859 Silva Santos 1990; Diphyodontidae Jordan 1923">inctiferidae Silva Santos 1990; Diphyodontidae Jordan 1923*** Genus †''
Jonoichthys''
Gouiric-Cavalli 2015
*** Genus ?†''
Ophirachis''
Costa 1854
*** Genus †''
Platycerhynchus''
Costa 1864
*** Genus †''
Pseudovinctifer''
Arratia 2015
*** Genus †''
Richmondichthys''
Bartholomai 2004
*** Genus †''
Aspidorhynchus''
Agassiz 1833 non Fitzinger 1843
*** Genus †''
Belonostomus''
Agassiz 1834 'Dichelospondylus''
Costa 1856; ''Hemirhynchus">Dichelospondylus.html" ;"title="'Dichelospondylus">'Dichelospondylus''
Costa 1856; ''Hemirhynchus''
Kner 1867 non Agassiz 1844 non Hodgson 1843; ''Diphyodus''
Lambe 1902]
*** Genus †''
Vinctifer''
Jordan 1920
Fossils range have been found in the United States, France, Italy, Russia, Saskatchewan,
Alberta
Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
,
North Dakota
North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...
,
Montana
Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...
,
Wyoming
Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...
, and
Uzbekistan
, image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg
, image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg
, symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem
, national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
. These fossils range from 167.7
mya (''
Aspidorhynchus'') to 66 mya (''
Belonostomus longirostris'').
Evolutionary history
The earliest known remains of the group are known from the Middle Jurassic of Europe, in what was then the western
Tethys Ocean
The Tethys Ocean ( ; ), also called the Tethys Sea or the Neo-Tethys, was a prehistoric ocean during much of the Mesozoic Era and early-mid Cenozoic Era. It was the predecessor to the modern Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Eurasia ...
, which was likely the centre of their initial diversification; during the Late Jurassic they dispersed to the waters around the Caribbean, South America and Antarctica.
During the Cretaceous they dispersed worldwide. Some members, like ''
Belonostomus'', attained a global distribution in both marine and freshwater habitats; others, like ''
Vinctifer'', were restricted to the seas around
Gondwana
Gondwana ( ; ) was a large landmass, sometimes referred to as a supercontinent. The remnants of Gondwana make up around two-thirds of today's continental area, including South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia (continent), Australia, Zea ...
, while others like the giant ''
Richmondichthys'' were restricted to small geographic regions such as the
Eromanga Sea.
The youngest members of the group, belonging to ''Belonostomus'', went extinct at the end of the
Maastrichtian
The Maastrichtian ( ) is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) geologic timescale, the latest age (geology), age (uppermost stage (stratigraphy), stage) of the Late Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or Upper Cretaceous series (s ...
during the
K-Pg extinction. A specimen from the Late Paleocene of
North Dakota
North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...
suggests they may have persisted into the early
Cenozoic
The Cenozoic Era ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterized by the dominance of mammals, insects, birds and angiosperms (flowering plants). It is the latest of three g ...
, although this may have just been reworked from earlier formations.
Anatomy

The most distinctive feature of the Aspidorhynchiformes are the elongated, tube-like
rostrums, which are formed from fused
premaxillary bones.
The scales are lepidosteoid, similar to those of
gars.
Most aspidorhynchids were predatory fish, which is best exemplified by fossils of ''
Aspidorhynchus'' from Germany that have been found entangled with those of the pterosaur ''
Rhamphorhynchus
''Rhamphorhynchus'' (, from Ancient Greek ''rhamphos'' meaning "beak" and ''rhynchus'' meaning "snout") is a genus of long-tailed pterosaurs in the Jurassic period. Less specialized than contemporary, short-tailed pterodactyloid pterosaurs such ...
'', which they appear to have attacked and died with. However, aspidorhynchids primarily fed on small fish and other vertebrates, with these attacks on pterosaurs appearing to be fatal mistakes.
In contrast to other aspidorhynchids, the largest member of the family, the giant ''
Richmondichthys'' from Australia, evolved clear adaptations for a
planktivorous,
filter-feeding lifestyle.
References
paleodb
†
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species or languages). It is one of the mo ...
Middle Jurassic first appearances
Maastrichtian extinctions
Taxa named by Pieter Bleeker
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