Lehmanamia sheppeyensis

Lehmanamia sheppeyensis

Casier, 1966

Common name Bowfin
Fossil group Bony Fish
Order Amiiformes
Family incertae sedis
Genus Lehmanamia
Taxonomic status Taxonomically Uncertain
Geological age Ypresian

Summary

Lehmanamia sheppeyensis is a poorly known amiiform-grade fish from the London Clay. It is based on limited cranial material, including a single important specimen, and its exact position among bowfin relatives remains uncertain. The available anatomy indicates a robust predatory fish, but the absence of a well-documented complete skeleton means that body shape and ecology cannot be reconstructed with confidence.

Living bowfin and many fossil amiiforms are opportunistic predators of fishes and invertebrates, so a carnivorous role is plausible, but this remains an inference from broader relationships. The species is best regarded as evidence for continued amiiform diversity in the early Eocene rather than as a fully understood ecological type.

Quick Identification

Look for: a robust amiiform-grade skull with heavy dermal roofing bones, a broad cheek region and a strongly ossified jaw apparatus; the known material is cranial and comparatively massive rather than delicate or otolith-based.

Diagnostic Features

  • Dermal skull roof is thick and strongly ossified.
  • Cranium is broad through the cheek and posterior orbital region.
  • Jaw bones are robust with a deep mandibular profile.
  • Opercular region is large and plate-like where preserved.
  • External skull-bone surfaces carry low irregular sculpture rather than fine parallel striation.

Fossil Details

Preservation
London Clay fish skulls are commonly incomplete, compressed, pyritised or enclosed in concretions. Thin cranial margins and projecting processes are easily lost, and separated bones can be difficult to orient; species-level identification is strongest when several adjoining diagnostic bones are preserved together.

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
Last Reviewed
20 August 2026 Reviewed by Sam Harris