Leedsichthys is a pachycormid pachycormiform ray-finned bony fish from the Middle-Late Jurassic of the United Kingdom, Germany, Chile, and France. It was named in 1889 by Arthur Smith Woodward. It was the largest bony fish to exist, and was originally thought to be 25 meters long; however, scientists now agree that it was 9 meters shorter.
Physiology[]
Leedsichthys' build was just as great as its size. It was a large fish with a bulky, torpedo-shaped body, thin, skinny fins, and a mid-sized head with large jaws. Its body would have been covered in scaly skin, with bony plates surrounding a region behind its head.
Diet[]
Leedsichthys was a predator, preying on small invertebrates. Its large mouth would have been used to filter plankton from the water, while the large, broad teeth on its upper jaw were used to crush harder-bodied prey like small fish and mollusks.
Ecology[]
Like the largest marine organisms to exist, Leedsichthys would have mainly been filter-feeder, using an array of gill rakers in its throat to filter zooplankton (small, planktonic animals) from the water; however, it also had a row of broad, sturdy teeth on its upper jaw, which was used for crunching down on fish, ammonites, and other hard-bodied animals. It would normally feed by making water pass through its gills by quickly swimming forward (causing small animals to flow into its mouth), but would sometimes actively pump water through its gills in order to achieve a similar purpose; due to the teeth on its upper jaw, it is likely that it did the latter to stir up movements in the seafloor and uncover previously buried bivalves, which it would then eat. A Leedsichthys bone with a Metriorhynchus tooth has been found, and was once thought to show that the metriorhynchid preyed on the pachycormid; however, the bone didn't heal, and so, it is now assumed that the marine crocodylomorph had scavenged the fish's carcass. Despite this, Leedsichthys wasn't entirely safe from predators when alive, as more advanced thalattosuchians like Dakosaurus would have been able to prey on mid-sized individuals, while pliosaurids like Liopleurodon and Pliosaurus would have been able to pose as a threat to larger ones.
In popular culture[]
Leedsichthys was featured in the 3rd episode of the 2003 documentary Chased by Sea Monsters, where it is shown as a large fish that travels in small schools; as well as this, it was oversized to a length of 28 meters. Soon, a weak and dying individual is attacked by a Metriorhynchus and a Hybodus; after the two smaller animals leave, a Liopleurodon (also oversized) comes to eat the giant fish.