Leptolepis
| Leptolepis Temporal range: Mid Triassic to Early Cretaceous
| |
|---|---|
Fossil
| |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: | |
| Genus: | Leptolepis
|
Leptolepis is an extinct genus of teleost ray-finned fish that lived in the Mesozoic era. It was about 30 cm (1 ft) long and one of the first teleosts.
Leptolepis was the first true bony fish to really live up to the name, possessing a skeleton completely made of bone (previous genera such as Pholidophorus had skeletons only partially composed of bone). Another modern development in Leptolepis were its scales, which lacked the glaze covering still present in previous genera. These two developments made swimming easier, as the bony spine was now more resistant to the pressure caused by the S movements made while swimming. Mass graves of Pholidophorus have indicated that it probably lived in schools which would provide some protection from predators while the creatures fed on surface plankton.
Leptolepis may have resembled the herring in appearance.
 | This paleontology article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |