Onchosaurus
| Onchosaurus Temporal range:
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| Fossil vertebra of Onchosaurus marocanus from Khouribga (Morocco.) | |
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| Genus: | Onchosaurus Gervais 1852
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Onchosaurus is an extinct genus of cartilaginous fishes belonging to the family Sclerorhynchidae.
These extinct fishes lived in the Cretaceous period, from 84.9 to 66.043 Ma. Fossils have been found in the Cretaceous sediments of Egypt, Morocco, France, Niger, Peru and United States. [1]
Description
These sclerorhynchiform sawfishes are only known by isolated vertebra and rostral spines. On the basis of fossil findings they are considered large, bottom-dwelling fishes, mainly inhabiting shallow marine habitats, but they were also powerful swimmers.[2]
Species
Species within this genus include: [1][3]
- Onchosaurus marocanus
- Onchosaurus pharao (Dames, 1887)
- Onchosaurus radicalis Gervais 1852
References
- ^ a b Fossilworks
- ^ Jürgen Kriweta, Stefanie Klug Presence of the extinct sawfish, Onchosaurus (Neoselachii, Sclerorhynchiformes) in the Late Cretaceous of Peru with a review of the genus
- ^ George S. Williams A Listing of Fossil Sharks and Rays of the World
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