Enchodus
| Enchodus | |
|---|---|
| E. petrosus mounted skeleton cast, Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Aulopiformes |
| Family: | †Enchodontidae |
| Genus: | †Enchodus Agassiz, 1835 |
| Type species | |
| †Esox lewesiensis Mantell, 1822 | |
| Species | |
|
~26+, see text | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Enchodus (from Greek: ἔγχος enchos, 'spear' and Greek: ὀδούς odoús 'tooth') is an extinct genus of aulopiform ray-finned fish related to lancetfish and lizardfish. Species of Enchodus flourished during the Late Cretaceous, where they were a widespread component of marine ecosystems worldwide, and there is some evidence that they may have survived to the Paleocene or Eocene; however, this may just represent reworked Cretaceous material.