Rhinconichthys

Rhinconichthys Temporal range: Cenomanian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	† Pachycormiformes
Family:	† Pachycormidae
Genus:	† Rhinconichthys Friedman et al., 2010
Species
†R. tayloriFriedman et al., 2010 †R. purgatoirensisSchumacher et al., 2016 [1] †R. uyenoiSchumacher et al., 2016 [1]

Rhinconichthys is an extinct genus of bony fish which existed during the Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous. ^[2]

Along with its close cousins the great-white-shark-sized or larger Bonnerichthys and the immense Leedsichthys , Rhinconichthys forms a line of giant filter-feeding bony pachycormid fish that swam the Jurassic and Cretaceous seas for over 100 million years.

Etymology

The generic name was chosen as a homophone of an unpublished name (“Rhynchonichthys”) coined by Gideon Mantell, and is meant to evoke the generic name of the whale shark, Rhincodon. ^[2]

Description

Rhinconichthys was a medium-sized fish. R. uyenoi grew to around 3.4–4.5 metres (11–15 ft) long, while R. purgatoirensis was much smaller, around 2–2.7 metres (6.6–8.9 ft) long. ^[1]

References

1. Bruce Schumacher; Kenshu Shimada; Jeff Liston; Anthony Maltese (2016). "Highly specialized suspension-feeding bony fish Rhinconichthys (Actinopterygii: Pachycormiformes) from the mid-Cretaceous of the United States, England, and Japan". Cretaceous Research. 61: 71–85. Bibcode:2016CrRes..61...71S. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2015.12.017.
2. Matt Friedman; Kenshu Shimada; Larry D. Martin; Michael J. Everhart; Jeff Liston; Anthony Maltese & Michael Triebold (2010). "100-million-year dynasty of giant planktivorous bony fishes in the Mesozoic seas" (PDF). Science . 327 (5968): 990–993. Bibcode:2010Sci...327..990F. doi:10.1126/science.1184743. PMID   20167784. S2CID   206524637.