Megalampris

Name: Megalampris ‭(‬Great brilliance‭)‬.
Phonetic: Meg-ah-lam-priss.
Named By: Michael D.‭ ‬Gottfried,‭ ‬R.‭ ‬Ewan Fordyce‭ & ‬Seabourne Rust‭ ‬-‭ ‬2006.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Actinopterygii,‭ ‬Lampriformes,‭ ‬Lampridae.
Species: M.‭ ‬keyesi‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Piscivore/Carnivore.
Size: About‭ ‬4‭ ‬meters long.
Known locations: New Zealand.
Time period: Oligocene.
Fossil representation: Partial skeleton.




       Today fish under the Lampris genus‭ (‬a.k.a.‭ ‬moonfish,‭ ‬opah,‭ ‬Jerusalem haddock,‭ ‬kingfish and cravo‭) ‬are known for their deep round bodies,‭ ‬brilliant sheen to their scales and the fact that they can easily grow up to two meters in length.‭ ‬Then in‭ ‬2006‭ ‬a fossil relative of the Lampris was named,‭ ‬and comparison between this partials skeleton and modern Lampris led to‭ ‬the revelation that this ancient relative could grow to at least double the size of even the largest Lampris,‭ ‬hence the creation of the name,‭ ‬Megalampris.
       Modern Lampris are predators of smaller fish as well as squid,‭ ‬but in turn they are prey to larger pelagic‭ (‬open water‭) ‬sharks like makos and great whites.‭ ‬The same was probably true for Megalampris,‭ ‬but with the additions megatoothed sharks like C.‭ ‬angustidens and C.‭ ‬chubutensis as well as predatory cetaceans like Waipatia,‭ ‬Megalampris was far from being a top predator.

Further reading
-‭ ‬Megalampris keyesi,‭ ‬a Giant Moonfish‭ (‬Teleostei,‭ ‬Lampridiformes‭) ‬from the Late Oligocene of New Zealand.‭ ‬Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology‭ ‬26‭(‬3‭)‬:544-55.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Michael D.‭ ‬Gottfried,‭ ‬R.‭ ‬Ewan Fordyce‭ & ‬Seabourne Rust‭ ‬-‭ ‬2006.



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