{{Short description|Extinct genus of ray-finned fishes}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = {{fossil range|95|90|Cenomanian - Turonian}} | image = Alepisauriformes - Prionolepis cataphractus.JPG | image_caption = Fossil of ''Prionolepis cataphractus'' from Lebanon | taxon= Prionolepis | authority = Egerton (in Dixon, 1850) }}
'''''Prionolepis''''' is a genus of prehistoric ray-finned fish belonging to the order Alepisauriformes.
==Fossil record== These ray-finned fish lived in the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian - Turonian, about 95-90 million years ago). Fossils have been found in Lebanon and England.
==Description== ''Prionolepis'' could reach a length of about {{convert|25|cm}}. Body was long and tapered, but rather strong and robust, with a series of high serrate scales (hence the name Prionolepis, from the Greek "saw scale"). His muzzle was pointed and very elongated, and jaw was slightly prognathous.
==Species== Species within this genus include:<ref>[https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=35581 Paleobiology Database]</ref> * ''†Prionolepis angustus'' <small>Egerton, 1850</small> * ''†Prionolepis cataphractus'' <small>(Pictet and Humbert, 1866)</small><ref>A.J. Boucot [https://books.google.com/books?id=wFPgBAAAQBAJ&dq=Prionolepis+cataphractus&pg=PA299 Evolutionary Paleobiology of Behavior and Coevolution]</ref> * ''†Prionolepis laniatus'' <small>Davis, 1887</small>
==Bibliography== * Dixon, F., 1850, The Geology and Fossils of the Tertiary and Cretaceous Formations of Sussex, p. 360-377. * Gallo, V., H. M. A. d. Silva, & F. J. d. Figueiredo. 2005. The interrelationships of †Dercetidae (Neoteleostei, Aulopifromes). pp. 101–104. IN: Poyato-Ariza, F. J. (ed.) Extended Abstracts. Fourth International Meeting on Mesozoic Fishes - Systematics, Homology, and Nomenclature. Ediciones Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Miraflores de la Sierra, Madrid, Spain August 8–14, 2005, 310 pp. * Goody, P. C. 1969. The relationships of certain Upper Cretaceous teleosts with special reference to the myctophoids. 7:1-255. Age: Cretaceous-Cretaceous Late; Cretaceous-Cretaceous Late-Senonian; Cretaceous-Cretaceous Late-Turonian; Cretaceous-Cretaceous Late-Cenomanian middle;. * Hay, O. P. 1903. On a collection of Upper Cretaceous fishes from Mount Lebanon, Syria, with descriptions of four new genera and nineteen new species. American Museum of Natural History, Bulletin 19:395-452. * Hilda M. A. Silva; Valéria Gallo: ''Taxonomic review and phylogenetic analysis of Enchodontoidei (Teleostei: Aulopiformes).'' Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências {{ISSN|0001-3765}} {{doi|10.1590/S0001-37652011000200010}} * Joseph S. Nelson: ''Fishes of the World''. John Wiley & Sons, 2006, {{ISBN|0-471-25031-7}} * Karl Albert Frickhinger: ''Fossilien Atlas Fische'', Mergus-Verlag, Melle, 1999, {{ISBN|3-88244-018-X}} * Larson, P. L. 1988. Famous fossil fish faunas. Mid-America Paleontology Society Digest 11:1-10. * Peter L. Forey, Lu Yi, Colin Patterson and Cliff E. Davies, 2003. Fossil fishes from the Cenomanian (Upper Cretaceous) of Namoura, Lebanon. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology (2003), 1:4:227-330 Cambridge University Press The Natural History Museum
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1397956}}
† Category:Prehistoric ray-finned fish genera Category:Cretaceous bony fish Category:Prehistoric fish of Africa
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