Megapiranha
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Megapiranha
For the 2010 film, see Mega Piranha.
| Megapiranha | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Characiformes |
| Family: | Characidae |
| Subfamily: | Serrasalminae Géry, 1972 |
| Genus: | Megapiranha Cione et al. 2009 |
| Species: | M. paranensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Megapiranha paranensis(type) |
|
Megapiranha is a genus of extinct serrasalmid characin fish from the Late Miocene (between 8-10 million years ago) of Argentina described in 2009.[1] Megapiranha reached lengths of up to 1 meter long, four times the size of the modern-day piranha. It is based on only premaxillae and teeth, with the rest of the body not known.[2]
The fossil has a zigzag row of teeth, which is intermediate between modern piranhas, with a single row of cutting teeth, and the pacu, with two rows of teeth adapted to eat plants.[2]
References
Lead taken from the more detailed Fossil Wiki article licensed under the Creatve Commons license.
- ^ Live Science: Toothy 3-foot Piranha Fossil Found
- ^ a b Luis Cione et al. Megapiranha paranensis, a new genus and species of Serrasalmidae (Characiformes, Teleostei) from the Upper Miocene of Argentina. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 2009; 29 (2): 350 doi:10.1671/039.029.0221
External links
- Summary of the paper
- New fossil tells how piranhas got their teeth
- Megapiranha article with size comparison to a human on prehistoric-wildlife.com.
| This article about a prehistoric ray-finned fish is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 |
This Characiformes-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
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