Birgeria

Name: Birgeria.
Phonetic: Bir-ge-re-ah.
Named By: Stensiö - 1919.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Osteichthyes,‭ ‬Actinopterygii,‭ ‬Birgeriformes,‭ ‬Birgeriidae.
Species: B.‭ ‬mougeoti‭ (‬type‭)‬, B.‭ ‬acuminata,‭ ‬B.‭ ‬aldingeri,‭ ‬B.‭ ‬americana,‭ ‬B.‭ ‬groenlandica,‭ ‬B.‭ ‬liui,‭ ‬B.‭ ‬nielseni,‭ ‬B.‭ ‬stensioei,‭ ‬B.‭ ‬velox‭?
Diet: ‭Carnivore.
Size: Most species about‭ ‬1‭ ‬meter long,‭ ‬but larger ones approached two meters long.
Known locations: Worldwide distribution with fossils found in Austria,‭ ‬Bolivia,‭ ‬Canada,‭ ‬China,‭ ‬France,‭ ‬Germany,‭ ‬Greenland,‭ ‬Italy,‭ ‬Luxembourg,‭ ‬Madagascar,‭ ‬Russia,‭ ‬Saudi Arabia,‭ ‬Slovenia,‭ ‬Spitsbergen,‭ ‬Switzerland,‭ ‬United Kingdom,‭ ‬USA.
Time period: Triassic.
Fossil representation: Numerous individuals from jaws and teeth to complete bodies.

       Birgeria are a genus of fish that lived during the Triassic.‭ ‬The body form and broad range of fossil distribution strongly suggest that Birgeria were open water‭ (‬pelagic‭) ‬fish that swam throughout the open ocean.‭ ‬The body seems to have been very smooth and the tail deeply vaned,‭ ‬adaptations that support efficient and fast swimming.‭ ‬Birgeria had forward facing eyes and a mouth that could open very wide,‭ ‬and combined with the sharp pointed teeth,‭ ‬Birgeria would have been one of the key predatory fish species in the ocean.

Further reading
-‭ ‬The fossil fishes of California,‭ ‬with supplementary notes on other species of extinct fishes.‭ ‬-‭ ‬University of California Publications,‭ ‬Bulletin of the Department of Geology‭ ‬5‭(‬7‭)‬:95-144.‭ ‬-‭ ‬D.‭ ‬S.‭ ‬Jordan‭ ‬-‭ ‬1907.
-‭ ‬Triassic Fishes from East Greenland collected by the Danish expeditions in‭ ‬1929-1931.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Meddelelser om Grønland‭ ‬83‭(‬3‭)‬:1-305.‭ ‬-‭ ‬E.‭ ‬Stensiö‭ ‬-‭ ‬1932.
-‭ ‬Notes on the Discovery of Birgeria in China.‭ ‬Vertebrata PalAsiatica‭ ‬39‭(‬3‭)‬:168-176.‭ ‬-‭ ‬F.‭ ‬Jin‭ ‬-‭ ‬2001.
-‭ ‬Marine Early Triassic Actinopterygii from Elko County‭ (‬Nevada,‭ ‬USA‭)‬:‭ ‬implications for the Smithian equatorial vertebrate eclipse.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Journal of Paleontology‭ ‬91:1025-1046.‭ ‬-‭ ‬C.‭ ‬Romano,‭ ‬J.‭ ‬F.‭ ‬Jenks,‭ ‬R.‭ ‬Jattiot,‭ ‬T.‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Scheyer,‭ ‬K.‭ ‬G.‭ ‬Bylund‭ & ‬H.‭ ‬Bucher‭ ‬-‭ ‬2017.

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