a Group of paleontologists during excavations in Argentine Patagonia discovered the fossilized remains of a giant prehistoric fish, whose age is about 70 million years.
the Study was published in the journal Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology, and briefly about it tells Phys.org. The discovery was made during examination of ancient marine sediments of the Salamanca formation of Chubut province, not far from lake Coloe-Chapel approximately 1400 kilometers South of the capital Buenos Aires.
Extracted from the sediment the fossil material consists of the remains of the upper jaw and vertebrae. The analysis allowed the identification of an ancient creature. It was a giant fish of the genus Xiphactinus. She lived in the “Patagonian” the seas about 70 million years ago.
This is the first such discovery made in the southern part of South America. Previously in the southern hemisphere the remains of this fish were found only in Venezuela. At the same time in the Northern hemisphere such fossils are not uncommon. For example, a nearly complete skeleton of this fish was found in the American state of Kansas, in 2010 it was sold at auction.
Thus, the new discovery proves that the habitat of these creatures were wider than was believed until now. It was a huge predator of the sea with a length of over six meters. Scientists generally call this fish one of the largest in history.
she Looked quite intimidating. This creature had a slim body that ended in a huge head with large jaws and teeth, sharp as needles. Length of teeth was a few centimeters.
members of the genus Xiphactinus was swimming in the sea at the end of the Cretaceous period, when the sea temperature was much more moderate than now. We will add, that Patagonia is one of the world’s biggest “graveyards” of dinosaurs and other prehistoric types.
