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''Lepidotes'' (previously known as ''Lepidotus'')〔 Hunterian Museum Geology Collections. ("Lepidotes" ). 〕 is an extinct genus of semionotid neopterygian ray-finned fish from the Jurassic period (Toarcian age) and Early Cretaceous. Fossils have been found in marine sediments of France, England, and Germany,〔López-Arbarello, A. (2012). "(Phylogenetic Interrelationships of Ginglymodian Fishes (Actinopterygii: Neopterygii). )" ''PLoS ONE'', 7(7): e39370. 〕 and in Early Cretaceous sediments of Brazil〔John G. Maisey, ''Discovering Fossil Fishes'', 1996:150, 152.〕 and Bornholm, Denmark (Jydegaard Formation). It lived from the Rhaetian of the Triassic until the Cenomanian of the Cretaceous.〔 In 1895, many species were assigned to it by Arthur Smith Woodward. They include, ''L. elvensis'', ''L. semiserratus'', ''L. tuberculatus'', ''L. gallineki'', ''L. leedsi'', ''L. latifrons'', ''L. haydeni'', ''L. occidentalis'', ''L. macrocheirus'', ''L. subovatus'', ''L. minor'', ''L. affinis'', ''L. unguiculatus'', ''L. laevis'', ''L. maximus'', ''L. mantelli'', ''L. degenhardti'', ''L. hauchecorni'', ''L. mawsoni'', ''L. notopterus'' and ''L.? pustulatus''.〔 Numerous additional species have been assigned to it which Woodward considered indistinguishable from others.〔 ==Description== Inhabiting both freshwater lakes and shallow seas, ''Lepidotes'' was typically about long. The body was covered with thick, enamelled scales. Batteries of peg-like teeth enabled ''Lepidotes'' to crush the shells of its molluscan prey. ''Lepidotes'' was one of the earliest fish in which the upper jawbones were no longer attached to the jugal bone. This allowed the jaws to be stretched into a 'tube' so that the fish could suck in prey from a greater distance than in previous species.〔 This system is still seen in some modern fish, such as carp. ''Lepidotes'' scales are ovular in shape, and are long and thick at the thickest point. The scales are smooth and shiny on the external surface, with only a few small depressions scattered toward the centre that are shaped like punctures.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Lepidotes」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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