Acipense roidei — Platysom idee. 



27 



Fig. 58.— Platysomus striatus, Agassiz (restoration after Dr. R. H. Traquair), Magnesian 



Limestone. 



Suborder III. — Lepidosteoidei. 



The Lepidosteoidei are represented by L"pidosteus, the " Gar- Wall-cases, 

 pike," or " Bony-pike " of the rivers of North and Central America ^abieVa^e^' 

 and Cuba : three species are living, having a completely ossified n os§ 49 to 45. 

 skeleton, the body being covered with stout rhombic ganoid scales. 



The Lepidosteoidei were abundantly represented in Mesozoic 

 times by a large series of fishes ; embracing the Sauridce, the 

 Lepidotidce (Fig. 63), the Dapediida or Stylodontidce (Fig. 64), 



Fig. 59. — Eurynotus crenatus, Agassiz, M Cement-stones," Carboniferous Series of 



Scotland (after Traquair). 



the Aspidorhynchidce, and the Pycnodontidce (Figs. 65-67) ; having 

 rhombic ganoid scales and si j mi-heterocercal tails ; the vertebra? 

 were less ossified than in the recent Lepidosteus, and in all the 

 notochord was more or less persistent. In the Pycnodontidce the 

 mouth was provided either with conical or flattened teeth arranged 



