Ichthyodectes

Ichthyodectes
2.Ichthyodectes ctenodon
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Superorder:	Osteoglossomorpha
Order:	Ichthyodectiformes
Family:	Ichthyodectidae
Subfamily:	Ichthyodectinae
Genus:	Ichthyodectes Cope, 1870
Species:	I. ctenodon
Binomial name
Ichthyodectes ctenodon

Ichthyodectes ctenodon is an extinct, 4-metre long ichthyodectid. It lived in the Western Interior Seaway of North America during the late Cretaceous. It was closely related to the 4 to 6 metre long Xiphactinus audax, and the 2-metre long Gillicus arcuatus, and like other ichthyodectids, I. ctenodon is presumed to have been a swift predator of smaller fish. As its species name suggests, I. ctenodon had small, uniformly sized teeth, as did its smaller relative, G. arcuatus, and may have simply sucked suitably sized prey into its mouth.

Ichthyodectes anaides, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

References