Palutestans

Palutestans is a genus of extinct teleost fish that lived during the Late Cretaceous period, approximately 83 to 72 million years ago. Fossils of Palutestans have been discovered in what is now the United States, particularly in the Judith River Formation of Montana. This genus is known for its peculiar dental morphology, which differs significantly from other known Cretaceous fish. The teeth are described as being robust and spatulate, or spoon-shaped, suggesting a specialized diet. While the exact ecological role of Palutestans remains speculative, its dentition implies it may have been adapted to feeding on hard-shelled invertebrates or possibly scraping algae from surfaces. Its phylogenetic relationships are still under investigation, but it is generally considered to be within the teleostean lineage, though its precise placement within the teleost evolutionary tree is not definitively established. The limited fossil material available for Palutestans makes detailed reconstruction of its anatomy and lifestyle challenging. However, its presence adds to the diversity of freshwater and brackish water fish faunas known from the Late Cretaceous of North America.