Cretaceous Needle Fish Fossil from NEW Moroccan Location

Description: A rarely seen member of the Order Aulopiformes, Family Dercetidae, it is a member of the bony fishes known as a “needle fish” due to its body shape. The upper and lower jaws have been extended into a rostrum; these fish were predators of smaller fish. The genus went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous, passing the way of the dinosaurs. This one is similar to those seen from Lebanon, but comes from a new location in Morocco that has only been known for a few years. I learned this year at the Tucson show that the location on the Moroccan-Algerian border is a militarily sensitive location which had restricted access but now has been closed, making the specimens even harder to find.