Lepidotes

Credit: Joschua Knüppe.

*Lepidotes* is an extinct genus of fish that lived worldwide during the Mesozoic.

## History

*Lepidotes* means 'covered in scurfy scales' after the scales on its body, and was named by Agassiz (1932) and later spelt as *Lepidotus* by Agassiz (1933). This may have been to change the name to have the masculine "us", but there is no definitive answer. Nonetheless, Koerber (2021) finds that *Lepidotes* takes priority because it was published first. Agassiz first placed *Lepidotes* into a family he called ‘Lepidoïdes’, which he used from 1833-43 whenever mentioned. However, ‘Lepidotidae' was used first as a family name, so it is the correct spelling for the family of gars.

Jaekel (1929) named *L. bülowianus* after Ernst Ulrich von Bülow-Trummer, Kurd von Bülow and the region in Germany called Bülow. This makes the species name German, and the ICZN suggests that names with special characters, such as the ü, should be amended. Koerber (2021) ammends this as *L. buelowianus*. Aside from the 2021 taxonomy revision, only Thies (1989) has amended the name in literature. Koerber also notes that *L. römeri*, named by Dunker (1846), should have the same changes, and is thus amended to *"L." roemeri*.

*L. patagonicus* may be a nomen nudum based on a lacking description but some others think this is unjustified, instead opting to consider it *"L." patagonicus* as a valid species. Koerber (2021) states that further revision is necessary. *L. levis* and *L. laevis* were both used by Agassiz (1857) in the same year, the former taking the most usage; Koerber (2021) decides that *L. laevis* should thus be the correct spelling.

Robertson (1847) presented *L. pusillus* from the Wealden as a new species, but was generally unnoticed probably due to the Robertson Collection being split in 1854 and sold to the British Museum and the Geological Society, where some specimens went missing. However, Robertson did not provide a description of any kind and only listed the name, so this taxon is unavailable. Bocchino (1973) named an *L. pusillus* from the Late Jurassic, San Juan as a new semionotid taxon. Most authors would consider these as homonyms, but Robertson's species is unavailable, so Bocchino's taxon is thus valid. *L. gigas* is the type, as designated by later authors as Agassiz did not designate a type.

Many species of *Lepidotes* went unrecognized by the 2021 revision by Koerber, and are thus placed into a separate species list here because there validity may be challenged, since *Lepidotes* is a wastebasket taxon. Koerber and Leuzinger (2021) registered *"L." crassus* (which they add the quotations due to the species needing revision), a species named by Nicolet (1872) as part of *Lepidotus*, in ZooBank and reexamined the species. It had been forgotten about because Nicolet had died after publication, the publication was written in an intelligible text and the original paper was in French. They provided a translation for the description, context and the original figures, but did not analyze it themselves, only making it easier for other researchers to access.

## Paleoecology

Lepidotes swam above the floors of lakes, lagoons, and shallow coastal waters, crushing shellfish with its teeth as it swam. Despite the size of *Lepidotes*, and its strong scales, Lepitodes was sometimes eaten by spinosaurs, and other piscivorous animals. *Lepidotes* has been reported from the Cretaceous of Algeria, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Alberta, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Libya, Madagascar, Morocco, Niger, Portugal, Spain, Thailand, Tunisia, the UK, Arizona, Arkansas, Maryland, Montana, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wyoming and Uzbekistan; the Jurassic-Cretaceous of Spain and Thailand; the Jurassic of Brazil, Chile, Ethiopia, France, Germany, India, Krgyzstan, Morocco, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia and the UK; the Triassic-Jurassic of Ethiopia; and the Triassic of Austria, China, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the UK and Utah.

## Species

* *L. elvensis*
* *L. frondosus*
* *L. ornatus*
* *L. buelowianus*
* *L. semiserratus?*
* *L. gigas*
* *L. laevis*
* "L[epidotus]. pusillus" (Robertson, 1847; invalid epithet) (=*L.* sp. indet)
* *"L. patagonicus"*

Uncertain species, not listed in 2021 revision:

* *L. tuberculatus*
* *L. leedsi*
* *L. latifrons*
* *L. haydeni*
* *L. occidentalis*
* *L. macrocheirus*
* *L. affinis*
* *L. unguiculatus*
* *L. mantelli*
* *L. degenhardti*
* *L. hauchecorni*
* *L. mawsoni*
* *L. glorinae*
* *L. lennieri*
* *L. macropterus*
* *L. microrhis*
* *L. pankowskii*
* *L. tanyrhis*
* *L. toombsi*
* *L. walcotti*
* *L. wenzae*
* *L. fimbriatus*
* *L. fittoni*
* *L. lusitanicus*
* *L. maximiliani*
* *L. oblongus*
* *L. occidentalis*
* *L. palliatus*
* *L. parvulus*
* *L. radiatus*
* *L. rugosus*
* *L. souzai*
* *L. speciosus*
* *L. striatus*
* *L. subdenticulatus*
* *L. subundatus*
* *L. undalis*
* *L. virleti*

Species of uncertain belonging to *Lepidotes*:

* *"L." laevis*
* *"L." pusillus* (Bocchino, 1973; valid epithet)
* *"L." roemeri*
* *L.? pustulatus* (=*Plesiodus*?)
* *"L." crassus*

### Reassigned Species

* *"L." subovatus*
* *"L." minor*
* *"L." maximus* (amended)/*maximum*
* *"L." notopterus*
* *"L." gallinecki*

## Synonyms

* *Lepidosaurus*?
* *Serobodus*
* *Lepidotus* (lapsus)
* *L. bülowianus* (amended)
* *L. levis* (amended)
* *L. römeri* (amended)
* *Cyprinus elvensis*

## Reference

* Dorling Kindersley Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Life, p. 50
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepidotes
* https://usercontent.one/wp/pecescriollos.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/PI-01-Koerber-2021-Nomenclatural-remarks-on-taxa-from-the-family-Lepidotidae.pdf
* https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicTaxonInfo?taxon\_no=35149&is\_real\_user=1
* https://usercontent.one/wp/pecescriollos.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/PI-03-Leuzinger-Koerber-2021-Lepidotes-crassus-Nicolet-1872-comments-on-a-forgotten-species.pdf