Lepidotes

Taxobox

---

name = "Lepidotes"
status = fossil
fossil_range = Late Triassic to Early Cretaceous
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Actinopterygii
ordo = Semionotiformes
genus = "Lepidotes"

"Lepidotes" is an extinct genus of ray-finned fish from the Mesozoic era. It was about 30 cm (1 ft) long.

"Lepidotes" introduced a new type of jaw anatomy; the upper jawbones were no longer attached to the zygomatic bone, allowing the jaws to be stretched into a 'tube' which meant that the fish could suck in prey from a greater distance than previous species. This system is still seen in some modern fish such as carp."Lepidotes" is frequently pictured as the prey of the large dinosaur "Baryonyx" because its scales were found in the stomach region of a fossil "Baryonyx"."Lepidotes" (sometimes written "Lepidotus") is a Jurassic and Cretaceous bony fish related to modern gars. Inhabiting both freshwater lakes and shallow seas, "Lepidotes" occasionally grew to over two metres in length. The body was covered with thick, enamelled scales. Batteries of peg-like teeth enabled "Lepidotes" to crush the shells of its molluscan prey.