Palaeorhynchidae

Palaeorhynchidae
	Fossil of Palaeorhynchus glaronensis in the Paleontological Museum Zurich
Temporal occurrence
	early Eocene to early Miocene (?)
	53 to 14 (?) Million years
Locations
	Europe; Russia; United States; Iran;
Systematics
	Spinefish (Acanthopterygii)
	Perch relatives (Percomorphaceae)
	Carangaria
Order :	Carangiformes
Superfamily :	Swordfish relatives (Xiphioidea)
Family :	Palaeorhynchidae
Scientific name
	Palaeorhynchidae
	Blainville , 1818

The Palaeorhynchidae are an extinct fish family from the order of the swordfish-like (Istiophoriformes). They appeared in the early Eocene , 53 million years ago, and occurred until the middle Miocene , 14 million years ago. Fossils have been found in numerous European countries and in the USA.

features

The various genera and species of the Palaeorhynchidae were medium-sized fish of very slender, elongated shape. The body was ten to twelve times as long as it was high. The number of vertebrae was 45 to 60. The maximum lengths of the smaller genera Homorhynchus and Palaeorhynchus were 60 to just over 80 cm. Pseudotetrapturus was up to four meters long. The head of the Palaeorhynchidae was narrow, the eyes large. Both jaws were elongated, with the upper jaw longer ( Homorhynchus ) or the same length ( Palaeorhynchus and Pseudotetrapturus ) as the lower jaw. The dorsal and anal fins were long like a seam and extended over most of the trunk. The number of dorsal fin rays was equal to or twice as high as the number of vertebrae. The caudal fin was crescent-shaped or forked. The scales could be large or small.

Genera

Homorhynchus van Beneden, 1873
Palaeorhynchus Blainville, 1818
Pseudotetrapturus Danilchenko, 1960
Aglyptorhynchus Casier, 1966, (assignment questionable (alternative to family Blochiidae ))

So far, 22 species have been described within the four genera .

literature

Harry L. Fierstine: Fossil History of Billfishes (Xiphioidei). Bulletin of Marine Science, Volume 79, Issue 3, January 2006, pages 433-453 abstract