The Leedsichthys fed predominantly on planktons that were abundant in the Jurassic waters where they lived. Instead, it was a filter-feeder whose feeding habit is more similar to the present-day blue whale. Yet, despite its massive size and fearsome dentition, this giant fish did not prey on big fishes or marine reptiles. The mouth of this Jurassic fish was equipped with as many as 40,000 teeth. SciePro/ Diet – What Did Leedsichthys Eat? Leedsichthys lived in the middle to late Jurassic Period and fed on plankton.

They also had a dorsal fin and a triangular anal fin, but a pelvic fin was absent. These were large and elongated with a slight curve to the side. Leedsichthys had two pectoral fins on the lower side of the body. From the fossils of this ancient fish, it is clear that it had bony fin rays. It might have had a snout, but this is not recorded in the fossils discovered so far. The Leedsichthys had a relatively large and elongated head. More generous estimates put the Leedsichthys’ maximum length at over 25 meters. Because of this, many scientists have pushed their maximum estimate to about 16 meters. However, some remains appear to be larger than this estimate. Most experts agree on a length of at least ten meters for this fish. Due to the fragmented nature of the remains recovered so far, the exact size of this fish is still a subject of open debate and speculation. The Leedsichthys is undoubtedly one of the largest bony fishes ever discovered. Some parts of the fish’s bone, notably the front of the skull and some parts of the vertebral bones, are cartilaginous, which means there’s no way they would have been preserved in the fossil record.ġ,098 People Couldn't Ace This Quiz Think You Can? Take Our Brand New A-Z-Animals Fish Quiz The controversy in the species size is the partial and fragmented nature of the fossils that paleontologists have dug up so far.

The species name refers to the difficulty that scientists have experienced in reconstructing this giant fish. The first and only species of this genus is Leedsichthys problematicus. The genus Leedsichthys was named after Sir Alfred Nicholson Leeds, the paleontologist who discovered this genus’s first fossil.

Although dozens of fossils from this fish genus have been found so far, scientists still have difficulty getting a clear picture of this fish’s size and appearance due to the incomplete nature of the fossils discovered so far. This ray-finned fish was one of the largest in its family and one of the largest fish ever discovered. Leedsichthys is a genus of gigantic prehistoric fish that lived from the middle to late Jurrasic period.

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