Xiphactinus: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Extinct genus of ray-finned fishes}}

'''''Xiphactinus''''' (from [[Latin]] and [[Greek language|Greek]] for "[[sword]]-ray") is an [[Extinction (biology)|extinct]] genus of large predatory marine [[Teleost|bonyray-finned fish]] that lived during the late [[Albian]] to the late [[Maastrichtian]].<ref name=Julieta20/> The genus grew up to {{convert|5|-|6|m|ft}} in length, and superficially resembled a gargantuan, fanged [[tarpon]].<ref name=Vavrek16>{{cite journal|author1=Vavrek, M.J.|author2=Murray, A.M.|author3=Bell, P.R.|year=2016|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|volume=1|issue=1|pages=89–100|doi=10.18435/B5H596|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|author1=Lionel Cavin |author2=Peter L. Forey |author3=Samuel Giersch |year=2013 |title=Osteology of ''Eubiodectes libanicus'' (Pictet & Humbert, 1866) and some other ichthyodectiformes (Teleostei): phylogenetic implications |journal=Journal of Systematic Palaeontology |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=115–177 |doi=10.1080/14772019.2012.691559 |s2cid=83807640 }}</ref> It is a member of the extinct order [[Ichthyodectiformes]], which represent close relatives of modern [[teleosts]].

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>

[[Category:IchthyodectidaeIchthyodectiformes]]