Thrissops

Friss-ops.
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Benjamin Gutierrez

Vertebrate Paleontologist

Benjamin Gutierrez is a leading expert on dinosaurs, particularly the mighty theropods. His fieldwork in South America has uncovered new species and provided insights into dinosaur social structures.

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Name

Thrissops.

Phonetic

Friss-ops.

Named By

Louis Agassiz‭ ‬-‭ ‬1833.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Actinopterygii,‭ ‬Osteoglossomorpha,‭ ‬Ichthyodectiformes,‭ ‬Ichthyodectidae.

Diet

Carnivore.Piscivore.

Species

T.‭ ‬curtus,‭ ‬T.‭ ‬molossus

Size

About‭ ‬60‭ ‬centimetres long.

Known locations

Europe and North Africa.

Time Period

Late Jurassic to the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Many individuals.

In Depth

       A smaller relative of the fearsome Xiphactinus,‭ ‬Thrissops would have still been a fearsome predator of smaller fish.‭ ‬The tail is deeply forked with the upper and lower lobes roughly equal in proportion to one another,‭ ‬a clear sign that the tail was capable of tremendous bursts of speed.‭ ‬It’s possible that Thrissops mostly initiated sudden bursts forward when closing in on a prey item,‭ ‬such as a single fish that had broken away from a shoal of prey that an individual and possibly other Thrissops were harassing.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬The fossil fishes of the English Wealden and Purbeck Formations,‭ ‬Part III‭ ‬-‭ ‬A.‭ ‬S.‭ ‬Woodward‭ ‬-‭ ‬1919.

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