Lepidorhombus circularis
Lepidorhombus circularis
Summary
Lepidorhombus circularis was a flatfish relative known in the London Clay from sagittal otoliths. Its placement with scophthalmid-grade flatfishes implies a bottom-associated adult lifestyle, with the body lying on one side and the eyes displaced to the upper surface. Those body features are not preserved in the London Clay material itself, so the ecological reconstruction comes from phylogenetic comparison rather than direct anatomy.
The otolith is small, thin and unusually rounded, with a straight narrow sulcus and a strong depression surrounding it. It provides evidence that specialised flatfish lineages were already part of the Ypresian marine fauna even where their fragile skeletons have not survived.
Quick Identification
Look for: a small, thin and nearly circular flatfish otolith, only modestly longer than high, with smoothly curved margins, a short pointed rostrum and a narrow straight sulcus surrounded by a conspicuous circum-sulcal depression.
Diagnostic Features
- Otolith length is only about 1.2–1.4 times its height, producing a rounded outline.
- Dorsal and ventral rims are smoothly and deeply curved without strong angular projections.
- Posterior end is broadly rounded while the anterior rostrum is short and pointed.
- Sulcus is moderately narrow, deep and nearly straight, with the ostium slightly longer than the cauda.
- A strong depression encircles the sulcus and joins around the caudal tip.
Fossil Details
Recorded Fossil Sites
No fossil-site occurrences have yet been recorded for this species.
References
- Schwarzhans, W. (2007). The otoliths from the Middle Eocene of Osteroden near Bramsche, north-western Germany. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen, 244(3), 299–369 View reference
- Steurbaut, E.; Nolf, D. (1988). Ypresian teleost otoliths from Belgium and northwestern France. Bulletin de la Société belge de Géologie, 97(3–4), 321–347 View reference
- Stinton, F. C. (1966). Fish otoliths from the London Clay. Faune ichthyologique du London Clay, 404–464. British Museum (Natural History), London View reference