Percostoma angustum
Percostoma angustum
Summary
Percostoma angustum is a taxonomically uncertain acanthomorph from the London Clay. Its skull is laterally compressed and carries a very large supraoccipital crest, producing a high, narrow head profile. Those features indicate a specialised cranial architecture, but they do not securely place the fish within a modern family or reveal a specific diet.
The species is therefore best treated as an example of early acanthomorph morphological diversity. A complete ecological reconstruction would go beyond the preserved evidence; the known material chiefly documents the neurocranium, crest and orbital region.
Quick Identification
Look for: a narrow, laterally compressed acanthomorph skull dominated by a very large thick supraoccipital crest rising from the rear of the cranial roof; the head is high and blade-like rather than broad and flattened.
Diagnostic Features
- Supraoccipital crest is exceptionally large, thick and strongly elevated.
- Neurocranium is laterally compressed, giving a narrow dorsal outline.
- Posterior skull profile rises steeply beneath the supraoccipital crest.
- Orbital region is deep relative to skull width.
- Cranial roof narrows markedly toward the front of the skull.
Fossil Details
Recorded Fossil Sites
No fossil-site occurrences have yet been recorded for this species.
References
- Casier, E. (1966). Faune ichthyologique du London Clay. 496 pp.. Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History), London View reference
- Friedman, M.; Beckett, H. T.; Close, R. A.; Johanson, Z. (2016). The English Chalk and London Clay: two remarkable British bony fish Lagerstätten. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 430(1), 165–200. Geological Society of London, London View reference