Xiphiorhynchus
| Xiphiorhynchus Temporal range:
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|---|---|
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| Fossil of Xiphiorhynchus sp | |
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| Artist's restoration of X. rotundus | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Carangiformes |
| Suborder: | Menoidei |
| Superfamily: | Xiphioidea |
| Family: | Xiphiidae |
| Genus: | †Xiphiorhynchus Van Beneden, 1871 |
| Species | |
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Xiphiorhynchus is an extinct genus of prehistoric swordfish that lived from the Eocene until the Miocene.[1][2][3][4] Unlike the modern swordfish, both the upper and lower jaws of Xiphiorhynchus were extended into blade-like points.[5] The largest member of this genus, Xiphiorhynchus rotundus, was at least 5.1 meters in length and had an estimate length of 708 kilograms, making it larger than any record extant billfish, and largest billfish ever known.[6]
Distribution
[edit]Fossils of Xiphiorhynchus have been found in:[7][4]
Eocene
[edit]- Castle Hayne Limestone, North Carolina X. sp
- Moodys Branch Formation, Tesheva Creek, Mississipi X. eocaenicus
- Yazoo Formation, Ouachita River, Louisiana X. sp
- London Clay, Miramar Crinoid Bed, United Kingdom X. priscus, X. parvus, X. sp
- Elmore Formation, United Kingdom X. sp
- La Meseta Formation, Antarctica X. sp
Oligocene
[edit]- Chandler Bridge Formation, South Carolina X. rotunda, X. aegyptiacus
Miocene
[edit]- Pisco Formation, Sacaco, Peru X. sp
- Raz-el Ain Formation, Oran, Algeria X. sp
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ Fierstine, Harry L. (2006). "Fossil History of Billfishes (Xiphioidei)". Bulletin of Marine Science.
- ^ "PBDB". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 2025-11-17.
- ^ "Xiphiorhynchus Van Beneden, 1871". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2025-11-17.
- ^ a b "Mindat.org". www.mindat.org. Retrieved 2025-11-17.
- ^ "(PDF) McCuen et al. 2020 A new specimen of Xiphiorhynchus cf. X. aegyptiacus". ResearchGate. Archived from the original on 2025-08-27. Retrieved 2025-11-17.
- ^ "Big fish in ancient waters". 2004-11-19. Retrieved 2025-11-17.
- ^ Xiphiorhynchus at Fossilworks.org
External links
[edit] | This article about a prehistoric bony fish is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
Categories:
- Prehistoric ray-finned fish genera
- Ypresian genus first appearances
- Prehistoric fish of Africa
- Neogene Africa
- Fossils of Algeria
- Prehistoric fish of Antarctica
- Paleogene Antarctica
- Fossils of Antarctica
- Prehistoric fish of Europe
- Paleogene United Kingdom
- Fossils of England
- Prehistoric fish of North America
- Paleogene United States
- Fossils of Louisiana
- Fossils of Mississippi
- Fossils of North Carolina
- Fossils of South Carolina
- Prehistoric fish of South America
- Fossil taxa described in 1871
- Xiphiidae
- Prehistoric bony fish stubs