Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
317 / Mesozoic
Xiphactinus
Xiphactinus audax
Its huge upturned mouth could swallow fish nearly half its own length.
View original image · 1536 × 1024- Time range
- About 100–66 million years ago
- Final stage
- End of the Cretaceous
- Geographic range
- Open seas · North America and Europe
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Xiphactinus?
Xiphactinus (Xiphactinus audax) was an extinct organism known from About 100–66 million years ago, with a range in Open seas · North America and Europe.
Life and ecology
A powerful tail drove this large ray-finned predator through open water.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Xiphactinus disappear?
Large predatory ichthyodectids disappeared with the end-Cretaceous collapse of marine food webs; the youngest records of Xiphactinus are not precisely tied to that event.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Xiphactinus?
Skeletons, stomach contents, teeth and healed injuries record predation and competition.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS