Protosphyraena

Protosphyraena is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine pachycormiform that lived during the Upper Cretaceous (Coniacian-Maastrichtian). Although fossil remains have been found in both Europe and Asia, it is probably best known from the Smoky Hill Chalk of the Niobrara Formation of Kansas. It was built for speed,‭ ‬either steady cruising or sudden bursts after prey.

Restoration of Protosphyraena

Protosphyraena shared the Cretaceous oceans with aquatic reptiles, such as mosasaurs and plesiosaurs, as well as with other prehistoric predatory fish. The name Protosphyraena is a combination of the Greek word protos ("early") plus Sphyraena, as paleontologists thought it was an ancient barracuda. Protosphyraena is not related to the swordfish, but belongs to the extinct family Pachycormidae.

Related pages

• Pseudoasthenocormus

References

1. Cope, E. D. (1873). "On an extinct genus of saurodont fishes". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 24: 280–281.
2. Stewart, A. (1900). "Teleosts of the Upper Cretaceous". The University Geological Survey of Kansas. 6: 257–403.
3. "Protosphyraena, an odd-looking fish from the Late Cretaceous". Reddit.

Other websites

• Protosphyraena: A Late Cretaceous "Swordfish" at Oceans of Kansas
• Media related to Protosphyraena at Wikimedia Commons