Xiphactinus
| Xiphactinus | ||||||||||||
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Xiphactinus audax |
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| Temporal occurrence | ||||||||||||
| Upper Cretaceous ( Turonian to Maastrichtian ) | ||||||||||||
| 93.9 to 66 million years | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Xiphactinus | ||||||||||||
| Leidy , 1870 | ||||||||||||
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Xiphactinus ( Gr .: "Nimble swordfish", Syn .: Polygonodon , Portheus ) is a genus of large extinct predatory fish from the order of Ichthyodectiformes . Numerous fossils have been found in deposits on the Western Interior Seaway in central North America. They aredatedto the Upper Cretaceous ( Turonian to Maastrichtian ).
description
Xiphactinus was a sturdy fish. It had a muscular tail fin that allowed it to reach a speed of 60 km / h. The lower jaw was designed in such a way that it could open its mouth wide. The fish differs from all other real bony fish (Teleostei) by the structure of the tail fin skeleton and a special bone called ethmopalatinum in the floor of the nasal pit. The caudal fin is large and deeply forked, typical for fast open water hunters (pelagic). In total, Xiphactinus was 5 to 6 meters long.
Fossils
The first Xiphactinus fossils were found in Kansas, USA, in the 1850s. Since then, many specimens have been found, including a five-meter-long animal that swallowed an entire two-meter-long fish head first.
Individual evidence
- ^ Tim Haines , Paul Chambers : The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life . BBC Limited 2005, ISBN 0-563-52219-4 , p. 134
Web links
- Oceans of Kansas: Xiphactinus audax