Belonostomus sp.

By oilshale

• July 16, 2021

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata Haeckel 1874
Class: Actinopteri Cope 1871
Order: Aspidorhynchiformes Bleeker 1859
Family: Aspidorhynchidae Nicholson & Lydekker 1889
Genus: Belonostomus
Species: Belonostomus sp.

Geological Time Scale

Eon: Phanerozoic
Era: Mesozoic
Period: Cretaceous
Sub Period: None
Epoch: Early
International Age: Albian

Stratigraphy

Tlayúa Formation

Provenance

Acquired by: Purchase/Trade

Dimensions

Length: 17 cm

Location

Tlayúa Quarry
Tepexe de Rodriguez (Town)
Puebla (State)
Mexico

• albian
• belonostomus
• cretaceous
• mexico
• tff-oilshale-ch2565
• tlayua

Comments

Quote from Ebert 2014, p. 16-17: “The genus Belonostomus Agassiz, 1834b is one of four genera of the extinct family Aspidorhynchidae Nicholson & Lydekker 1889. The other three are the type genus Aspidorhynchus Agassiz, 1833 from mid to late Jurassic marine deposits of the Tethys (Cuba, France, Germany, Great Britain), Vinctifer Jordan, 1919 from Cretaceous marine deposits of the Gondwana coasts (Antarctica, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Columbia, Equatorial Guinea, Mexico and Venezuela) and Richmondichthys Bartholomai, 2004 from marine deposits of the Cretaceous (Albian) of Queensland (Australia). The genus Belonostomus is widespread, ranging from the late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian to Tithonian of England, France and Germany) to the Cretaceous (England, Germany, Italy, Lebanon, North and South America) and maybe even up to the Paleocene…”

Diagnosis of the genus (amended from Brito 1997 in Ebert 2014, p. 22): "A very slender and elongated Aspidorhynchidae, with a maximum depth (MD) of about 6-9% of standard length (SL). The cranium is also slender and elongate with both jaws of great length. The main characteristic feature is an elongated predentary, which is nearly as long as the dentary. A supramaxilla does not exist. The maxilla is pointed at the ends with a laterally expanded lamella at the dorsal border. Ganoin on the scales is present. There are three dorsoventrally elongated flank scales in the middle of the body, of which the median one is the lateral line scale, which is two to three times higher than long. All fins are reduced in size and have fewer rays than in other members of Aspidorhynchidae."

Brito (1997, p. 743-744) mentions a new species of the genus Belonostomus (Belonostomus sp. " 3 ") from the quarry Tlayúa without giving an official name.

Identified as Belonostomus sp. by oilshale using Brito, 1997.
 

References:

Agassiz L. (1834) Abgerissene Bemerkungen über fossile Fische.- Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Geognosie, Geologie und Petrefaktenkunde, pp. 379-390.

Brito P. M. (1997) Révision des Aspidorhynchidae (Pisces, Actinopterygii) du Mésozoïque : ostéologie, relations phylogénétiques, données environnementales et biogéographiques. Geodiversitas 19 (4): 681-772. g1997n4a2.pdf (mnhn.fr)

Espinosa-Arrubarrena, L. and Alvarado-Ortega, J. (2010) Field trip to the Tlayúa quarry. Gonzalez-Rodriguez, K. and Arratia, G. (eds.), Fifth International Meeting of Mesozoic Fishes-Global Diversity and Evolution. Abstract Book & Field Guides. Pachua, Cinecia al Dia, 19:93-113.

Ebert, Martin (2014) The genus Belonostomus Agassiz, 1834 (Neopterygii, Aspidorhynchiformes) in the late Jurassic of the Solnhofen Archipelago, with a focus on Belonostomus kochii Münster, 1836 from Ettling (Germany). Archaeopteryx 32: 15-43; Eichstätt.