''Flindersichthys'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric

bony fish Osteichthyes (), popularly referred to as the bony fish, is a diverse superclass of fish that have skeletons primarily composed of bone tissue. They can be contrasted with the Chondrichthyes, which have skeletons primarily composed of cartila ...

that lived during the

Albian The Albian is both an age of the geologic timescale and a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is the youngest or uppermost subdivision of the Early/Lower Cretaceous Epoch/ Series. Its approximate time range is 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma to 100.5 ± ...

stage of the

Early Cretaceous The Early Cretaceous (geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous ( chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma. Geology Pr ...

epoch.

Description

''Flindersichthys'' was a large fish growing over 1.25 meters long and with an estimated body depth of over 30 centimeters. The holotype specimen, QMF2210, is a nearly complete skull found near the

Flinders River The Flinders River is the longest river in Queensland, Australia, at approximately . It was named in honour of the explorer Matthew Flinders. The catchment is sparsely populated and mostly undeveloped. The Flinders rises on the western slopes o ...

, one mile east of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a ...

, Queensland, in the sediments of the

Toolebuc Formation The Toolebuc Formation is a geological formation that extends from Queensland across South Australia and the Northern Territory in Australia, whose strata date back to the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous. Dinosaurs,Weishampel ''et al.'', 2004 ...

. Several other specimens are also known, mostly from the

, though some are from the Allaru and

Normanton Normanton is the name of: England *Normanton, Derby *South Normanton, Derbyshire *Temple Normanton, Derbyshire *Normanton, Leicestershire *Normanton, Lincolnshire *Normanton, Rutland *Normanton, West Yorkshire **Normanton (UK Parliament constitue ...

formations. It is assigned to the

Elopiformes The Elopiformes are the order of ray-finned fish including the tarpons, tenpounders, and ladyfish, as well as a number of extinct types. They have a long fossil record, easily distinguished from other fishes by the presence of an additional se ...

order, but while it shares some features with megalopids it is considered ''

incertae sedis ' () or ''problematica'' is a term used for a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertain ...

'' below this level. Judging from its

dentition Dentition pertains to the development of teeth and their arrangement in the mouth. In particular, it is the characteristic arrangement, kind, and number of teeth in a given species at a given age. That is, the number, type, and morpho-physiolog ...

and the fact that the specimen QMF13720 has small, isolated

vertebrae The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristi ...

of a

teleost Teleostei (; Greek ''teleios'' "complete" + ''osteon'' "bone"), members of which are known as teleosts ), is, by far, the largest infraclass in the class Actinopterygii, the ray-finned fishes, containing 96% of all extant species of fish. Tel ...

fish in the mouth, ''Flindersichthys'' is believed to be a predator of smaller fish. It also had a large jaw with an underbite, possibly allowing it to swallow small prey whole.

References

Early Cretaceous fish Elopiformes {{elopiformes-stub

Description

See also

References