Leedsichthys

simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leedsichthys

Leedsichthys Temporal range: Middle Jurassic

Leedsichthys with scuba-diver for scale

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Actinopterygii

Order: Pachycormiformes

Family: Pachycormidae

Genus: Leedsichthys

Species: L. problematicus

Binomial name

Leedsichthys problematicus

Leedsichthys problematicus, ('Leeds fish') was a giant fossil fish of the Jurassic period. It
was a pachycormid, a group of extinct ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii). Leedsichthys is the
largest fish known, with an estimated length of up to 16 meters.[1] The Blue Whale is twice
as long, at 30 metres, but that is a mammal, not a fish.

Leedsichthys fossils are incomplete, making it impossible to know the exact length. The
fossil is named after its discoverer, Alfred Nicholson Leeds, who discovered it before 1886
near Peterborough, England.[1]

Food
Like the worlds biggest fish today, the Whale shark, the Leedsichthys problematicus was a
filter feeder, getting its nutrition from plankton. Remains of over 70 individuals have now
been found.[1]

References
1.0 1.1 1.2 1/2
1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Liston J.J. 2004. An overview of the pachycormiform Leedsichthys. In:
Arratia G and Tintori A (eds) Mesozoic Fishes 3 - Systematics, Paleoenvironments
and Biodiversity. Pfeil, München. 379-390

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