Scheenstia

Scheenstia
Temporal range: Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous,
Fossil specimen of S. maximus
Lower jaw with teeth of Scheenstia sp. scale bar = 1 cm
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Lepisosteiformes
Family: †Lepidotidae
Genus: †Scheenstia
López-Arbarello & Sferco, 2011
Type species
Scheenstia zappi
López-Arbarello & Sferco, 2011
Species[1]
  • †S. mantelli (Agassiz, 1833)
  • †S. laevis (Agassiz, 1837)
  • †S. maximus (Wagner, 1863)
  • †S. decoratus (Wagner, 1863)
  • †S. degenhardti (Branco, 1885)
  • †S. hauchecornei (Wagner, 1863)
  • †S. zappi López-Arbarello & Sferco, 2011
  • †S. bernissartensis (Traquair, 1911)
Fossil of S. maximus

Scheenstia is an extinct genus of freshwater and marine ray-finned fish from the Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous of Europe. The teeth of this genus are called "toadstones" and were believed to be found in the head of a toad. It is part of a family called the Lepidotidae in the order Lepisosteiformes. It is related to the much better-known Lepidotes.

Appearance

A large fish, Scheenstia, could exceed one meter. It had a robust body and rounded teeth, perfect for squashing hard-bodied animals. It was probably a relatively slow swimmer. The body shape resembles the famous Lepidotes.

Life reconstruction of S. maximus
The teeth of Scheenstia. The teeth were historically known as toadstones.

References

Sources

  • López-Arbarello, Adriana (2012-07-11). "Phylogenetic Interrelationships of Ginglymodian Fishes (Actinopterygii: Neopterygii)". PLoS ONE. 7 (7): e39370. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0039370. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3394768. PMID 22808031.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: article number as page number (link)
  • Cavin, Lionel; Deesri, Uthumporn; Olive, Sébastien (2020-03-18). "Scheenstia bernissartensis (Actinopterygii: Ginglymodi) from the Early Cretaceous of Bernissart, Belgium, with an appraisal of ginglymodian evolutionary history". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 18 (6): 513–527. doi:10.1080/14772019.2019.1634649. ISSN 1477-2019.