Photo of the Day #804: Xiphactinus

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A reconstruction of Xiphactinus at the Museum of Ancient Life in Utah.


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A reconstruction of Ceratosaurus at the Museum of Ancient Life in Utah.
A reconstruction of a dead Edmontosaurus on display at the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point, Utah.
A reconstruction of the skull of Torvosaurus based upon the few parts of skull material that have been recovered so far. Photographed at the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point, Utah.
A Tyrannosaurus rex, photographed at the Museum of Ancient Life in Utah.

Too much blue! what part is supposed to be what?

By Antiquated Tory (not verified) on 26 Dec 2009 #permalink

CREEPY. But cool.

Whoa, it's the killer fish from Hell! Xiphactinus was a HUGE (upwards of 16 feet long) predatory bony fish that ate other fish (including sharks) and even young plesiosaurs and mosasaurs.

This guy was like a worst-nightmare cross between a giant grouper and a barracuda, but much bigger than either one. It also seems to have been a cannibal, and ate just about anything that could fit in its huge stomach.

In the hall of Mesozoic life at the Field Museum in Chicago there are several impressive dinosaurs, but the cases along the walls have many other wonderful things, like a huge Xiphactinus! Very nice!

By JJ Anderson (not verified) on 26 Dec 2009 #permalink