{{short description|Extinct family of fish}} {{automatic taxobox | fossil_range = {{fossilrange|Early Jurassic|Early Cretaceous}} | image = 2013-03 Naturkundemuseum Berlin Dickschupperfisch Scheenstia maximus anagoria.jpg | image_caption = Fossil of ''Scheenstia maximus'' | taxon = Lepidotidae | authority = Owen, 1860 | subdivision = See text }} '''Lepidotidae''' is an extinct family of fish, known from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Most species were originally assigned to the genus ''Lepidotes'' which was long considered a wastebasket taxon. Cladistic analysis has indicated that they are close relatives of gars, with both being members of the order Lepisosteiformes. Members of the family are known from both marine and freshwater environments.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Cavin|first1=Lionel|last2=Deesri|first2=Uthumporn|last3=Olive|first3=Sébastien|date=2020-03-18|title=Scheenstia bernissartensis (Actinopterygii: Ginglymodi) from the Early Cretaceous of Bernissart, Belgium, with an appraisal of ginglymodian evolutionary history|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14772019.2019.1634649|journal=Journal of Systematic Palaeontology|language=en|volume=18|issue=6|pages=513–527|doi=10.1080/14772019.2019.1634649|s2cid=199631685 |issn=1477-2019|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Their bulky body morphology and small median fins suggests that they were slow-moving fish that were capable of performing fine movements in order to grasp prey.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cawley |first=John J. |last2=Marramà |first2=Giuseppe |last3=Carnevale |first3=Giorgio |last4=Villafaña |first4=Jaime A. |last5=López‐Romero |first5=Faviel A. |last6=Kriwet |first6=Jürgen |date=February 2021 |title=Rise and fall of †Pycnodontiformes: Diversity, competition and extinction of a successful fish clade |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.7168 |journal=Ecology and Evolution |language=en |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=1769–1796 |doi=10.1002/ece3.7168 |issn=2045-7758 |pmc=7882952 |pmid=33614003}}</ref> ''Lepidotes sensu stricto'' had peg-like grasping marginal teeth and crushing palatal teeth, and is known to have consumed small crustaceans,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Thies |first1=Detlev |last2=Stevens |first2=Kevin |last3=Stumpf |first3=Sebastian |date=2021-06-03 |title=Stomach contents of the Early Jurassic fish † Lepidotes Agassiz, 1832 (Actinopterygii, Lepisosteiformes) and their palaeoecological implications |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2019.1665040 |journal=Historical Biology |language=en |volume=33 |issue=6 |pages=868–879 |doi=10.1080/08912963.2019.1665040 |s2cid=203892069 |issn=0891-2963|url-access=subscription }}</ref> while ''Scheenstia'' had low rounded crushing marginal teeth, indicating a durophagous diet.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Leuzinger |first1=Léa |last2=Cavin |first2=Lionel |last3=López‐Arbarello |first3=Adriana |last4=Billon‐Bruyat |first4=Jean‐Paul |date=January 2020 |editor-last=Smith |editor-first=Andrew |title=Peculiar tooth renewal in a Jurassic ray‐finned fish (Lepisosteiformes, † Scheenstia sp.) |journal=Palaeontology |language=en |volume=63 |issue=1 |pages=117–129 |doi=10.1111/pala.12446 |issn=0031-0239|doi-access=free }}</ref>
== Taxonomy == * ''Camerichthys'' {{Small|Bermúdez-Rochas & Poyato-Ariza, 2015}} * ''Isanichthys'' {{Small|Cavin and Suteethorn, 2006}} * ''Lepidotes'' {{Small|Agassiz, 1832}} * ''Mengius'' {{Small|Thies ''et al.'', 2024}}<ref name="Thies2024">{{cite journal |last1=Thies |first1=D. |last2=Stevens |first2=K. |last3=Ansorge |first3=J. |title=A new lepisosteiform neopterygian (Actinopterygii) from the lower Toarcian Grimmen Formation (Lower Jurassic) of Mecklenburg and Western Pomerania, Germany |journal=PalZ |date=2024 |doi=10.1007/s12542-023-00683-5|doi-access=free }}</ref> * ''Scheenstia'' {{Small|López-Arbarello & Sferco, 2011}}
== References == {{reflist}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q109801647}}
Category:Lepisosteiformes Category:Prehistoric ray-finned fish families