A VIRTUALLY COMPLETE FOSSIL FISH SKELETON FROM THE CRETA🌳CEOUS PERIOD

Ichthyodectid fish were a successful group of predatory fish that reached their peak durin𝓡g the Late Cretaceous P✱eriod. They could grow to lengths of 20 feet or more and dominated the Western Interior Seaway that covered much of what is now North America approximately 85 million years ago.

The best known ichthyodectid is Xiphactinus, and the example seen here represents a closely related but exceedingly more rare species possibly Ichthyodectes or Gillicus. This specimen sho⛎ws remarkable preservation of the right side of the body, skull, and jawꦅ. Like other ichthyodectids, this specimen shows the characteristic elongate body, powerful tail, and powerfully built bulldog-like jaws, qualities that made these fish extremely efficient hunters during their nearly 100 million years here on Earth.

Ichthyodectids 𒆙experienced a marked decline at the end of the Cretaceous Period, alongside mosasaurs and other marine reptiles who had also dominated the seas during that time. Their decline is often considered a primary factor in allowing sharks to become the apex ocean predator beginning in the Early Paleogene Period, about 60 to 65 million years ago.