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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