fish

Onchopristis

Onchopristis was a 4 meter (13 foot) long sawfish which lived during the middle Cretaceous Period approximately 105-95 million years ago. Onchopristis belonged to the sub-order Sclerorhynchoidei of the order Rajiformes, “ray-shaped”. Despite a superficial resemblance to a modern-day sawfish,… Read More ›

Xiphactinus

There are many iconic predators of the Seven Seas: the Great White Shark, the Killer Whale, the Giant Squid, and others. In prehistoric times, the list of “epic marine killers” was much longer. One of those who definitely deserves a… Read More ›

Concavotectum

Concavotectum was a 6 foot long fish which lived in Morocco during the middle Cretaceous Period 100 million years ago. Concavotectum, which was named in 2008 from a single skull, belonged to the family Plethodidae. The plethodids first appeared during… Read More ›

Cladocyclus

Cladocyclus was a 4 foot long saltwater fish which lived around South America and Australia during the middle Cretaceous Period 110-100 million years ago. The famous Swiss ichthyologist Louis Agassiz coined the name Cladocyclus in 1841. The name, which means… Read More ›

Asteracanthus

Asteracanthus was a 6 foot long hybodont shark which lived from the middle Jurassic Period to the middle Cretaceous Period 165-100 million years ago. Unlike most prehistoric sharks which are known only from teeth, Asteracanthus is also known from some… Read More ›

Cretalamna

Cretalamna, meaning “chalk shark”, was a 10 foot long shark which lived from the middle Cretaceous Period to the Eocene Epoch of the Paleogene Period 105-46 million years ago. Cretalamna was one of the first so-called “modern” sharks to appear…. Read More ›

Cretodus

Cretodus, meaning “chalk tooth”, was a 22 foot long shark which lived throughout the world during the middle to late Cretaceous Period 100-85 million years ago. Cretodus was one of the first “modern” sharks to appear on earth during the… Read More ›

Todiltia

Todiltia schoewei was a small prehistoric saltwater fish which lived in North America during the middle Jurassic Period 165 million years ago. Fossils of this fish have been found in Colorado and New Mexico within the Todilto Limestone Member of… Read More ›

Occithrissops

Occithrissops willsoni was an 8 inch (20 cm) long saltwater fish which lived within the Sundance Sea during the middle Jurassic Period 165 million years ago. During the middle of the Jurassic Period, much of the center of North America… Read More ›

Xenacanthus

Xenacanthus, meaning “strange spine”, was a 3 foot long shark-like freshwater fish which lived in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia from the second half of the Carboniferous Period to the end of the Permian Period, approximately 323-251 million… Read More ›