IMPRESSIVE FOSSIL FISH Cimolichthys sp. Upper... Lot 2

IMPRESSIVE FOSSIL FISH Cimolichthys sp. Upper Cretaceous (86-72 MA) Niobrara formation, Kansas, USA H. 37 ¾ in - L. 79 ½ in Also known as the Western Inland Sea Barracuda, Cimolichthys was a fast and powerful predator of the Cretaceous seas that could reach up to 2 meters in length, characterized by a skull with long slender jaws armed with three rows of sharp teeth. It possessed a single small dorsal fin, placed just before the pelvic fins, and the caudal fin was composed of two distinctly separated lobes. The body was covered by large, heavy scutes. along the back and in the belly area. Cimolichthys appears to have been unusually attracted to rather large prey, as inside many specimens are often found large remains only partially digested. The genus name Cimolichthys appears to have been unusually attracted to rather large prey, as inside many specimens are often found large remains only partially digested. (from Greek: kimolia =a white chalky clay; ichthys = fish) had been coined by Leidy in 1857, based on fossils found in southern England in Turonian soils, dating from about 90 million years ago. According to Alvaro Mones, a Uruguayan biologist and paleontologist “the name cimoli refers to a white clay from the Aegean Island of Cimolus of the archipelago of the Cyclades, well known in Antiquity for the high quality of the fishes it produced”.