Bonnerichthys

Name: Bonnerichthys.
Phonetic: Bon-ner-rik-fiss.
Named By: Edward Drinker Cope‭ ‬-‭ ‬1873.
Synonyms: Portheus gladius,‭ ‬Protosphyraena gladius.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Actinopterygii,‭ ‬Pachycormiformes,‭ ‬Pachycormidae.
Species: B.‭ ‬gladius‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet:‭ ‬Planktonic filter feeder.
Size: Up to about‭ ‬6‭ ‬meters long.
Known locations: USA.
Time period: Late Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Partial remains.




       Bonnerichthys is a genus of very large filter feeding fish that lived during the Late Cretaceous.‭ ‬By becoming a filter feeder of plankton,‭ ‬Bonnerichthys had access to a near limitless supply of food,‭ ‬while expending very little energy in gathering it,‭ ‬meaning that more calories could go into building and maintaining a large body size.‭
       Relative genera to Bonnerichthys include Rhinconichthys and Leedsichthys.

Further reading
-‭ ‬Bonnerichthys gladius‭ (‬Osteichthyes‭) ‬from the Cretaceous of the Atlantic coastal states.‭ ‬Abstracts with Programs‭ ‬-‭ ‬Geological Society of America‭ ‬43‭(‬1‭)‬:87.‭ ‬-‭ ‬B.‭ ‬S.‭ ‬Grandstaff,‭ ‬D.‭ ‬C.‭ ‬Parris‭ & ‬R.‭ ‬O.‭ ‬Johnson‭ ‬-‭ ‬2011.



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