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{{Short description|Extinct genus of ray-finned fishes}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = Xiphactinus audax fossil, Tellus Science MuseumAMNH.jpg
| image_caption = Mounted skeleton of ''X. audax'' at the [[Tellus ScienceAmerican Museum]], [[Georgiaof (U.S.Natural state)|GeorgiaHistory]]
| fossil_range = [[Albian]]–[[Maastrichtian]]<br />~{{fossilrange|112100.5|66}}
| taxon = Xiphactinus
| authority = [[Joseph Leidy|Leidy]], 1870
| type_species = {{extinct}}'''''Xiphactinus audax'''''
| type_species_authority = [[Joseph Leidy|Leidy]], 1870
| subdivision_ranks = Other speciesSpecies
| subdivision = *{{extinct}} '''''X. audax''''' {{small|Leidy, 1870}}
*{{extinct}} '''''X. vetus''''' {{small|Leidy, 1856}}
| subdivision_ref = <ref name=Vavrek16/>
*{{extinct}} '''''X. mantelli''''' {{small|Newton, 1877}}▼
| synonyms = {{collapsible list|title=List of synonyms<ref name=Bardack1965>{{cite journal|author=Bardack, D.|year=1965|title=Anatomy and evolution of chirocentrid fishes|journal=The University of Kansas Paleontological Contributions|volume=10|pages=1–88|hdl=1808/3814 |url=http://hdl.handle.net/1808/3814}}</ref><ref name=Schwimmeretal1997 />|▼
*{{extinct}} '''''X. gaultinus''''' {{small|Newton, 1877}}▼
| synonyms =
▲{{collapsible list|title=List of synonyms<ref name=Bardack1965>{{cite journal|author=Bardack, D.|year=1965|title=Anatomy and evolution of chirocentrid fishes|journal=The University of Kansas Paleontological Contributions|volume=10|pages=1–88|hdl=1808/3814 |url=http://hdl.handle.net/1808/3814}}</ref><ref name=Schwimmeretal1997 />|
{{collapsible list|title=Synonyms of ''X. audax''|
*''Saurocephalus audax'' <small>[[Edward Drinker Cope|Cope]], 1870</small>
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*''Xiphactinus brachygnathus'' <small>Stewart, 1899</small>
*''Xiphactinus lowii'' <small>Stewart, 1900</small>
▲*{{extinct}} '''''X.Xiphactinus gaultinus''''' {{<small|>Newton, 1877}}</small>
*''PortheusXiphactinus mantelli'' <small>Newton, 1877</small>▼
*''Megalodon sauroides'' <small>[[Louis Agassiz|Agassiz]], 1835</small>▼
*''Megalodon? lewesiensis'' <small>[[Gideon Mantell|Mantell]], 1836</small>▼
*''Hypsodon lewesiensis'' <small>Agassiz, 1843</small>▼
▲*{{extinct}} '''''X.Portheus mantelli''''' {{<small|>Newton, 1877}}</small>
*''Portheus daviesi'' <small>Newton, 1877</small>▼
}}
{{collapsible list|title=Synonyms of ''X. vetus''|
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*''Portheus angulatus'' <small>Cope, 1872</small>
*''Xiphactinus angulatus'' <small>Schwimmer et al., 1992</small>
}}
{{collapsible list|title=Synonyms of ''X. mantelli''|
▲*''Megalodon sauroides'' <small>[[Louis Agassiz|Agassiz]], 1835</small>
▲*''Megalodon? lewesiensis'' <small>[[Gideon Mantell|Mantell]], 1836</small>
▲*''Hypsodon lewesiensis'' <small>Agassiz, 1843</small>
▲*''Portheus mantelli'' <small>Newton, 1877</small>
▲*''Portheus daviesi'' <small>Newton, 1877</small>
}}
{{collapsible list|title=Synonyms of ''X. gaultinus''|
*''Portheus gaultinus'' <small>Newton, 1877</small>
}}
}}
}}
 
'''''Xiphactinus''''' (from [[Latin]] and [[Greek language|Greek]] for "[[sword]]-ray") is an [[Extinction (biology)|extinct]] genus of large (predatory marine [[ray-finned fish]] that lived during the late [[Albian]] to the late [[Maastrichtian]].<ref name=Julieta20/> The genus grew up to {{convert|5.1|-|6|m|ft|1}} in length, and superficially resembled a gargantuan, fanged [[tarpon]].<ref name=shimadaeverhartVavrek16>Shimada,{{cite Kenshujournal|author1=Vavrek, and Michael M.J.|author2=Murray, EverhartA.M.|author3=Bell, "Shark-bitten P.R.|year=2016|title=''Xiphactinus audax'' (Teleostei:Leidy, Ichthyodectiformes)1870 from the NiobraraPuskwaskau ChalkFormation (UpperSantonian Cretaceousto Campanian) of Kansas."northwestern TheAlberta, MosasaurCanada 7and (2004):the 35-39.</ref>)distribution predatoryof marine''Xiphactinus'' [[Teleost|bonyin fish]]North thatAmerica|journal=Vertebrate livedAnatomy duringMorphology the [[Late Cretaceous]] ([[Albian]] to [[Maastrichtian]])Palaeontology|volume=1|issue=1|pages=89–100|doi=10.18435/B5H596|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="sepkoskidb">{{citeCite journal|lastauthor1=SepkoskiLionel Cavin |firstauthor2=JackPeter L. Forey |titleauthor3=ASamuel compendiumGiersch |year=2013 |title=Osteology of fossil''Eubiodectes marinelibanicus'' animal(Pictet & Humbert, 1866) and some other ichthyodectiformes (Teleostei): phylogenetic generaimplications |journal=[[BulletinsJournal of AmericanSystematic Paleontology]]Palaeontology |volume=36411 |pageissue=5602 |datepages=2002115–177 |urldoi=http://strata10.ummp.lsa.umich.edu1080/jack/showgenera14772019.php?taxon=611&rank=class |access-date=2009-02-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web2012.archive.org/web/20110723131237/http://strata.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/jack/showgenera.php?taxon=611&rank=class691559 |archive-dates2cid=July 23, 201183807640 }}</ref> SpeciesIt inis a member of the genusextinct boreorder a[[Ichthyodectiformes]], superficialwhich resemblancerepresent toclose arelatives gargantuan,of fangedmodern [[tarponteleosts]].
 
The species ''Portheus molossus'' described by Cope is a [[junior synonym]] of ''X. audax''. Skeletal remains of ''Xiphactinus'' have come from the [[Carlile Shale]] and [[Greenhorn Limestone]] of [[Kansas]] (where the first ''Xiphactinus'' fossil was discovered during the 1850s in the [[Niobrara Chalk]]),<ref name="FWXiphactinus">[httphttps://www.fossilworkspaleobiodb.org/cgi-binclassic/bridge.plcheckTaxonInfo?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=35308 ''Xiphactinus''] at [[Fossilworks]].org</ref><ref name="comguide">{{cite book|last=Haines|first=Tim|title=The complete guide to prehistoric life|year=2005|publisher=Firefly Books|location=Buffalo, N.Y.|isbn=978-1-55407-181-4|edition=First|author2=Chambers, Paul|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781554071258/page/134 134]|quote=The first ''Xiphactinus'' fossil was found during the 1850s in Kansas.|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781554071258/page/134}}</ref> and Cretaceous formations all over the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] (most notably [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[Alabama]], [[North Carolina]], and [[New Jersey]]) in the [[United States]],<ref name="FWXiphactinus" /><ref name=Schwimmeretal1997>{{cite journal |doi=10.1080/02724634.1997.10011007 |first1=David R. |last1=Schwimmer |first2=J. D. |last2=Stewart |first3=G. Dent |last3=Williams |year=1997 |title=''Xiphactinus vetus'' and the Distribution of ''Xiphactinus'' Species in the Eastern United States |journal=[[Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology]] |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=610–15 |jstor=4523841|bibcode=1997JVPal..17..610S }}</ref> as well as [[Europe]], [[Australia]],<ref>{{cite journal |title=Xiphactinus audax Leidy 1870 from the Puskwaskau Formation (Santonian to Campanian) of northwestern Alberta, Canada and the distribution of Xiphactinus in North America |journal=Vertebrate Anatomy Morphology Palaeontology |date=2016-02-04 |volume=1 |doi=10.18435/B5H596 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292983703|doi-access=free |last1=Vavrek |first1=Matthew J. |last2=Murray |first2=Alison M. |last3=Bell |first3=Phil R. |page=89 }}</ref> the [[Kanguk Formation|Kanguk]] and [[Ashville Formation]]s of [[Canada]],<ref name="FWXiphactinus" /> [[La Luna Formation]] of [[Venezuela]] and the [[Salamanca Formation]] in [[Argentina]].<ref name="FWXiphactinus" /><ref name=Julieta20>{{cite journal |title=First record of the ichthyodectiform fish Xiphactinus (Teleostei) from Patagonia, Argentina |journal=Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology |date=2020 |doi=10.1080/03115518.2019.1702221 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/figure/10.1080/03115518.2019.1702221?scroll=top&needAccess=true|last1=De Pasqua |first1=Julieta J. |last2=Agnolin |first2=Federico L. |last3=Bogan |first3=Sergio |volume=44 |issue=2 |pages=327–331 |bibcode=2020Alch...44..327D |s2cid=216170146 }}</ref><ref>Carrillo-Briceño, J., Alvarado-Ortega, J. & Torres, C. (2012). [http://www.sbpbrasil.org/revista/edicoes/15_3/08_CarrilloBriceno_et_al.pdf Primer registro de ''Xiphactinus'' Leidy, 1870, (Teleostei: Ichthyodectiformes) en el Cretácico Superior de América del Sur (Formación La Luna, Venezuela)]. ''[[Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia]]'' 15(3):327-335</ref>
 
== Paleobiology ==
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Species of ''Xiphactinus'' were voracious predatory fish. At least a dozen specimens of ''X. audax'' have been collected with the remains of large, undigested or partially digested prey in their stomachs. In particular, one {{convert|4.2|m|ft}} fossil "'''Fish-Within-A-Fish'''" specimen was collected by [[George F. Sternberg]] with another, nearly perfectly preserved {{convert|1.9|m|ft}} long ichthyodectid ''[[Gillicus arcuatus]]'' inside of it. The larger fish apparently died soon after eating its prey, most likely owing to the smaller prey's struggling and rupturing an organ as it was being swallowed. This fossil is on display at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History in [[Hays, Kansas]].<ref>Konishi, T., Newbrey, M. G., & Caldwell, M. W. (2014). A small, exquisitely preserved specimen of ''Mosasaurus missouriensis'' (Squamata, Mosasauridae) from the upper Campanian of the Bearpaw Formation, western Canada, and the first stomach contents for the genus. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 34(4), 802–819. https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2014.838573</ref>
 
Like many other species in the Late Cretaceous oceans, a dead or injured individual was likely to be scavenged by sharks (''[[Cretoxyrhina]]'' and ''[[Squalicorax]]''). The remains of a ''Xiphactinus'' were found within a large specimen of ''[[Cretoxyrhina]]'' collected by Charles H. Sternberg. The specimen is on display at the University of Kansas Museum of Natural History.
[[File:Xiphactinus - head detail.jpg|thumb|Detailed view of the skull of ''Xiphactinus'' at the [[American Museum of Natural History]]]]
 
Virtually nothing is known about the larval or juvenile stages. The smallest fossil specimen of ''X. audax'' consists of a tooth-bearing [[premaxilla]] and lower jaws of an individual estimated to be about {{convert|12|in|cm}} long.<ref>[http://www.oceansofkansas.com/Xiphactinus/XIPHJUV1.jpg "''Xiphactinus Audax''"] (JPG). oceansofkansas.com.</ref>{{Self-published inline|date=February 2011}}{{Better source needed|date=February 2011}}
 
The species and all other ichthyodectids became extinct near the end of the [[Late Cretaceous]] – see [[Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event]].
 
An incomplete [[skull]] of what may be a new species of ''Xiphactinus'' was found in 2002 in the [[Czech Republic]], in a small town called [[Šachov]] next to [[Borohrádek]] city, by then 16-year-old student Michal Matějka.<ref>http://www.mestoborohradek.cz/file.php?nid=428&oid=5254456 {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref>
 
Like modern tarpons, ''Xiphactinus'' likely spent its juvenile stage of life in shallow seaway margins for protection and to utilize rich food resources, possibly rare in open marine water, though this needs confirmation due to the lack of shallow, nearshore deposits from the [[Western Interior Seaway]]. The teeth of the juvenile specimen indicate that the diet of ''Xiphactinus'' probably didn't change notably during its growth, implying that even the small specimens would have been fish-eating predators.<ref>{{Cite journal|author1=James L. King |author2=Kristopher J. Super |year=2019 |title=The smallest recorded specimen of ''Xiphactinus audax'' from the Niobrara Chalk of Kansas and its implications for juvenile ichthyodectid ecology |journal=Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology |volume=33 |issue=4 |pages=441–445 |doi=10.1080/08912963.2019.1623212 |s2cid=191146942 }}</ref>
In July 2010 the bones of a ''Xiphactinus'' were discovered near Morden, Manitoba, Canada. The specimen was about {{convert|18|-|20|ft|m}} long and was found with the flipper of a [[mosasaur]] between its jaws.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160304030243/http://discoverfossils.com/documents/press-release-fossil-find-july-2010.pdf "Major Fossil Discovery Underway in Morden"] (PDF). Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre. July 16, 2010. Press release.</ref>
 
== "Unicerosaurus" ==
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[[File:Ichthyodectidae1.jpg|thumb|left|''Xiphactinus'' compared to other [[Ichthyodectidae|ichthyodectids]]]]
[[File:Xiphactinus audax.jpg|thumb|Depiction of a ''Xiphactinus'' swallowing a ''[[Gillicus]]'']]
In October 2010, Kansas House Rep. Tom Sloan (R-Lawrence) announced that he would introduce legislation to make ''Xiphactinus audax'', a.k.a. the "X-fish", the state fossil of [[Kansas]].<ref>{{cite web|agency=Associated Press |url=http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2010/oct/26/kansas-rep-tom-sloan-agrees-back-x-fish-states-off/ |title=Kansas Rep. Tom Sloan agrees to back X-fish as state's official fossil / LJWorld.com |publisher=.ljworld.com |date=2010-10-26 |access-date=2011-10-12}}</ref> Ultimately, ''[[Tylosaurus]]'' was selected instead.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/state-fossils/18626 | title=State Fossils - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.fossilera.com/pages/state-fossils#kansas | title= List of State Fossils | access-date= September 1, 2015 | work= State Symbols, State Fossil | publisher= Fossilera}}</ref>
 
== Notes==
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== External links ==
{{Commons category|Xiphactinus}}
* [http://www.carnegiemnh.org/exhibits/jurassic/fctxipha.htm Carnegie Museum] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041114045033/http://www.carnegiemnh.org/exhibits/jurassic/fctxipha.htm |date=2004-11-14 }}
* [http://www.oceansofkansas.com/xiphac.html Oceans of Kansas]
* [http://homepages.dordt.edu/~mahaffy/paleo/fish/xiphactinus.html a painting and information] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928063622/http://homepages.dordt.edu/~mahaffy/paleo/fish/xiphactinus.html |date=2007-09-28 }}
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/seamonsters/factfiles/xiphactinus.shtml BBC]
* [http://www.discoverfossils.com/documents/press-release-fossil-find-july-2010.pdf Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710132703/http://www.discoverfossils.com/documents/press-release-fossil-find-july-2010.pdf |date=2011-07-10 }}
 
{{Ichthyodectiformes}}
{{Teleosteomorpha|C.}}
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q131444|from2=Q55518957|from3=Q41168664}}
{{Portal bar|Paleontology|Fish|Marine life|Cretaceous}}
 
[[Category:IchthyodectidaeIchthyodectiformes]]
[[Category:Marine fish genera]]
[[Category:Prehistoric ray-finned fish genera]]
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[[Category:Fossils of the United States]]
[[Category:Cretaceous fish of Europe]]
[[Category:PrehistoricCretaceous fish of Australia]]
[[Category:Late Cretaceous fish of South America]]
[[Category:Cretaceous Venezuela]]
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