Leedsichthys

Intro Leedsichthys lived during the Middle-Late Jurassic period, 165 – 145 million years ago. It shared the waters with Hybodus, Metriorhynchus, Ophthalmosaurus, Cryptoclidus, and Liopleurodon. During the 1880s, the gentleman farmer Alfred Nicholson Leeds collected large fish fossils from loam pits near Peterborough, England. Physical Attributes Leedsichthys was the largest fish that existed in the Jurassic period as well as the largest fish that ever lived. At minimum, they measured between 23 feet (7 m) and 54 feet (16.5 m). However, there were colossal individuals that measured 72 – 80 feet (22 – 24.5 m) long and weighing up to 45 tons (99,000 lbs.), making it the largest bony fish to ever live. Despite Leedsichthys' monstrous size, it was not without its predators. Liopleurodon, Hybodus, Metriorhynchus, and other marine carnivores might chance an attack if it is slightly away from the school because the slow Leedsichthys wouldn't attack back. Behavior & Traits Like modern whale sharks and baleen whales, Leedsichthys was a gentle giant that lived on shrimp, jellyfish, fish, plankton, and any small animals floating in the Jurassic ocean. It would have swum slowly through the upper waters of the ocean, taking mouthfuls of plankton-rich water and sieving them through the giant mesh-plates at the back of its mouth. Its feeding habits were similar to those of modern baleen whales. It was a ray-finned fish, making it a relative of most fish living on Earth today. Leedsichthys also lived in huge shoals. At a certain time of year, the lived on their fat reverse and that really shorted out the healthy fish from the sick ones.