The Cenozoic Bony Fish Thread

Adam Khor

A 50 million year flatfish was somewhere in between the normal fish (with an eye in each side of the head) and modern day flatfish which have both eyes in one side of the head.

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/06/scienceshot-the-flatfishs-wander.html?ref=hp

Adam Khor

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/29/science/fossil-fish-school.html?smid=tw-nytimesscience&smtyp=cur

Ash.J.Williams

thats brilliant

Slattsy

Incredible.

Adam Khor

New light on cichlid evolution in Africa

https://phys.org/news/2019-07-cichlid-evolution-africa.html

Adam Khor

Phractocephalus yaguaron, a giant catfish from the Miocene found in Argentina. Article is in Spanish.

https://noticiasdepaleontologia.blogspot.com/2019/12/phractocephalus-yaguaron-un-nuevo-pez.html

The fossils were originally found in the canyons of the Parana river in the Entre Ríos province, and are 10 million years old. Researchers have named it Phractocephalus yaguaron. Yaguarón is a Guaraní word for a mythical being very rooted in popular culture of the Argentinian coastal and northern regions. It is depicted as a giant fish, greenish, with a flattened back and head. It moves in the river bottom creating whirlpools that sink boats (...) some depictions suggest this animal had a head similar to a bull's and a body like a serpent. (Either way) the Yaguarón is a monster of the deep closely associated with the Parana river, which in nights of full moon moves about causing mudslides on the river banks and often causing the death of men and livestock.

The fossil fish' remains are so big and massive that they were erroneously identified as those of a colossal crocodile. The remains indicate this giant catfish would've been over two meters long and probably weighed over 70 kg.

Although very large, the measurements given are probably within the potential size range of its living relative, the red-tailed catfish (Phractocephalus hemioliopterus), one of the Amazon's largest fish. Legends abound about huge specimens of this catfish eating monkeys and even small children. As is the case with many freshwater fish however truly big individuals are now very rare.

Adam Khor

"Saber-toothed anchovy" named after vampiric creature of Asian folklore; has one single "saber tooth" on the upper jaw and could grow to one meter long.



https://www.livescience.com/ancient-anchovy-fangs-saber-tooth.html