Fig. 296.—Amia and its nest. (From Bashford Dean.)
The Amiidae, represented by Megalurus,[[589]] first appear in the Upper Jurassic of Dorset, France, and Bavaria. In the Cretaceous period the family is represented by Amiopsis. Species of Amia occur in the Eocene of Europe and North America. In the former area the genus became extinct at the close of the Lower Miocene period, but in the latter Amia calva still survives.
Fam. 6. Pachycormidae.—Large-mouthed, predaceous Amioid Fishes with a more or less prominent snout and a short dorsal fin. Scales rhombic but thin, rounded behind, and overlapping, sometimes absent. A single large jugular plate.
In the earlier forms (e.g. Pachycormus, Lias) the snout is but slightly produced, but in Hypsocormus (Upper Jurassic), and especially in Protosphyraena (Cambridge Upper Greensand and the Cretaceous of Europe and North America), it becomes greatly elongated and associated with an exceptionally strong dentition.
Fig. 297.—Restoration of Hypsocormus insignis, omitting the squamation. Upper Jurassic of Bavaria. × ⅛. (From Smith Woodward.)
Fam. 7. Aspidorhynchidae.—Long-bodied Fishes, with a pointed preoral rostrum, sharp teeth, and deep rhombic scales. Fins small, the dorsal and anal being remote from the pelvic fins. Fulcra vestigial or absent. Jugular plates not known.
Two genera only are known. Aspidorhynchus is a Jurassic form. Belonostomus is Upper Jurassic and Cretaceous. Species of the latter genus have a very wide distribution (Europe, North and South America, and Australia).
Fig. 298.—Restoration of Aspidorhynchus acutirostris. Upper Jurassic of Bavaria. × 1⁄11. (From Smith Woodward.)