Xiphactinus - Facts and Figures

Xiphactinus - Facts and Figures Name: Xiphactinus (mix Latin and Greek for blade beam); articulated zih-FACK-tih-nuss Living space: Shallow waters of North America, western Europe and Australia Authentic Period: Late Cretaceous (90-65 million years back) Size and Weight: Around 20 feet in length and 500-1,000 pounds Diet: Fish Recognizing Characteristics: Huge size; slim body; noticeable teeth with particular underbite  About Xiphactinus At 20 feet in length and up to a large portion of a ton, Xiphactinus was the biggest hard fish of the Cretaceous time frame, however it was a long way from the top predator of its North American ecosystemas we can tell from the way that examples of the ancient sharks Squalicorax and Cretoxyrhina have been found containing Xiphactinus remains. It was a fish-eat-fish world back in the Mesozoic Era, however, so you shouldnt be astounded to discover that various Xiphactinus fossils have been found containing the somewhat processed survives from littler fish. (Finding a fish inside a fish inside a shark would be a genuine fossil trifecta!) One of the most well known Xiphactinus fossils contains the nearly unblemished survives from a dark, 10-foot-long Cretaceous fish called Gillicus. Scientistss estimate that the Xiphactinus passed on directly subsequent to gulping the fish, perhaps in light of the fact that its despite everything living prey figured out how to cut its stomach in an edgy endeavor at escape, similar to the terrible extraterrestrial in the film Alien. In the event that this is truly what occurred, Xiphactinus would be the main fish known to have passed on from intense acid reflux! An odd aspect regarding Xiphactinus is that its fossils have been found in pretty much the last spot youd anticipate, the landlocked territory of Kansas. Truth be told, during the late Cretaceous time frame, a great part of the American midwest was lowered under a shallow waterway, the Western Interior Sea. Thus, Kansas has been a rich fossil wellspring of a wide range of marine creatures from the Mesozoic Era, mammoth fish like Xiphactinus, however different marine reptiles too, including plesiosaurs, pliosaurs, ichthyosaurs and mosasaurs.