Palaeorhynchidae
| Palaeorhynchidae Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| Fossil skeleton of Palaeorhynchus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Carangiformes |
| Suborder: | Menoidei |
| Superfamily: | Xiphioidea |
| Family: | †Palaeorhynchidae Günther, 1880 |
| Type genus | |
| †Palaeorhynchus de Blainville, 1818
| |
| Genera | |
Palaeorhynchidae is an extinct family of billfish that ranged from the Eocene to Oligocene of Europe and Asia; most known members of the family being found in what was the Paratethys Sea. Members of the family are generally similar to modern billfish in body shape, having elongated bodies, though differ in aspects of the skull and postcrania. Unlike modern billfish, most members of the family possessed both long upper and lower jaws. Along with this, they only had a single dorsal fin that would have run down almost the entire length of the body.