Lepidotes
genus of fishes (fossil)
Lepidotes (from Greek: λεπιδωτός lepidōtós, 'covered with scales') (previously known as Lepidotus) is an extinct genus of Mesozoic ray-finned fish. It has long been considered a wastebasket taxon, characterised by "general features, such as thick rhomboid scales and, for most of the species, by semi-tritorial or strongly tritorial dentition". with dozens of species assigned to it. Fossils attributed to Lepidotes have been found in Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks worldwide. It has been argued that Lepidotes should be restricted to species closely related to the type species L. gigas, which are only known from the Early Jurassic of Western and Central Europe, with most other species being not closely related, with other species transferred to new genera such as Scheenstia. Lepidotes belongs to Ginglymodi, a clade of fish whose only living representatives are the gars (Lepisosteidae). The type species L. gigas and close relatives are thought to be members of the family Lepidotidae, part of the order Lepisosteiformes within Ginglymodi, with other species occupying various other positions within Ginglymodi.
Description
Inhabiting both freshwater lakes and shallow seas, Lepidotes was typically about 30 centimetres (12 in) long. The body was covered with thick, enamelled scales.
Lepidotes was one of the earliest fish in which the upper jawbones were no longer attached to the jugal bone.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Lepidotes” as genus of fishes (fossil). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as genus of fishes (fossil). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 25, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q134482. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
A general summary may omit uncertainty, sample limits or methodological disagreement that is explicit in the technical record. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Lepidotes” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.