Thrissops
| Thrissops Temporal range: Late Jurassic–Late Cretaceous | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Thrissops formosus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Superorder: | Osteoglossomorpha |
| Order: | †Ichthyodectiformes |
| Family: | †Ichthyodectidae |
| Genus: | †Thrissops Agassiz, 1833 |
Thrissops is an extinct genus of teleost fish from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Its fossils are known from the Solnhofen limestone.[1]
Thrissops subovatus
Thrissops were fast predatory fish about 60 centimetres (24 in) long, that fed on other bony fish.[2] They had a streamlined body with a deeply cleft tail and only very small pelvic fins. Thrissops was related to the giant Xiphactinus and may have been an ancestor of the modern Osteoglossiformes, the most primitive group of living teleosts, which includes the arapaima.[3]
References
- ↑ Solnhofen und seine Fossilien: Thrissops
- ↑ Orvar Nybelin, "Versuch einer taxonomischen revision der jurassischen Fischgattung Thrissops Agassiz", Nature (1964)
- ↑ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 39. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
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