226 Evolution and Distribution of Fishes 



Cretaceous Marine 



Teleosts 



Benton 

 Beds 



Niobrara Fort Pierre 

 Beds Beds 



Foxhills 



Recent 



Anogmius . 

 Apsopelix . 

 *Beryx 

 Cimolichthys 

 Cladocyclus 

 Dercetis 

 Empo 

 Enchodus 

 Gillicus 

 Ichthyodectes 

 Ichthyotringa 

 Ischyrhiza . 

 Leptecodon 

 Leptichthys 

 Oricardinus 

 Pachyrhizodus 

 Pelycorapis . 

 Protosphyraena 

 Saurodon 

 Saurocephalus 

 Sardinius 

 Spaniodon . 

 Stratodus 

 Syllaemus . 

 Triaenaspis 

 Tetheodus . 

 Xiphactinus (Portheus) 



* The determination of the above is probably incorrect. (See Woodward, Brit. Mus. 

 Cata. IV (1901) 386). 



Of the Saurodontidae alone in the above list Stewart 

 says: "This family embraced some of the largest physo- 

 stomous fishes of the Cretaceous period of North America, 

 and from the size of the jaws and the powerful dentition, 

 we may suppose that they rivalled the Mosasaurs, the 

 smaller ones at least, in strength and ferocity," The skull 

 of Portheus (Xiphactinus) shown in Fig. 29, after Stewart, 

 illustrates well the above observations. 



But about twice as many other genera have been de- 

 scribed from beds in England, Germany and from the 

 Hakel-Sahel beds of Lebanon. So between 80 and 90 marine 

 teleostean genera are thus known. Some of these deposits 

 have long been celebrated for the beauty and delicacy in 

 detail of the enclosed organisms. This is specially true of 

 those from the Benton-Niobrara of Kansas, the Sussex 

 beds of England, those of Westphalia, and the celebrated 

 Turonian or Sahel-Hakel beds of Lebanon. Even tender 



