Ichthyodectiformes indet
Order Ichthyodectiformes
Geological Time: Lower Cretaceous, Turonian Stage (~90 mya)
Size (25.4 mm = 1 inch): Fish fossil: 170 mm in length by 80 mm high on a 180mm by 120 mm by 65 mm thick matrix
Fossil Site: Goulmima, Morocco
Fossil Code: 15076
Price: $495.00
 Description:
This unusual fish was a member of the Ichthyodectiformes, a group
of predatory fish that arose during the Middle Jurassic. The most
famous ichthyodectiforms were the gigantic (5 meters in length)
examples from the Late Cretaceous of North America such as Xiphactinus.
Its predatory nature was well evidenced by several examples of
the species that were preserved with entire prey fish enclosed
within the body cavity. My favorite is the famous Fish-Within-A-Fish
on display at the Sternberg Museum in Hays, Kansas which has a
2 meter long Gillicus preserved within a 4 meter Xiphactinus. This
fine example of an as-yet undescribed member of the Order shows
the slender shape of a pursuit predator, and is well-displayed
on a large matrix plate that would grace the wall of any private
collector or museum. What is most unusual about this specimen is
the fact that it is preserved in a concretion, much like contemporaneous
fish from Brazil. Like all the icthyodecthids,
it went extinct in the terminal Cretaceous extinction event which
saw the passing of the non-avian dinosaurs. |
