Superior Fossil Needle Fish from Cretaceous Morocco

Rhynchodercetis sp Fish Fossil

Class Actinopterygii, Order Aulopiformes, Family Dercetidae

Geological Time: Middle Cretaceous

Size (25.4 mm = 1 inch): Fish Fossil would be approximately 10.6 cm (4.25”) if outstretched. The plate size is 20.3 x 20.3 cm (8 x 8”)

Fossil Site: Ramlia Taouz, Morocco

Code: PFF314

Price: Sold


Rhynchodercetis Fossil Needle FishDescription: Moroccan Cretaceous fossil fish have only recently been offered to collectors. This specimen, though not particularly large, was picked because of the superior preservation of the bony parts of the head, well-preserved fins and vertebrae.

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 three years.

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