7.3" Cimolichthys (Cretaceous Fish) Vertebra - Kansas

Cimolichthys (Cretaceous Fish) Vertebra - Kansas #61438

This is a 7.4" Cimolichthys nepaholica fossil jaw section from the Smoky Hill Chalk in Gove County, Kansas. All the teeth are broken off but you can see many teeth they would have had.

Cimolichthys is a genus of late Cretaceous fish that are considered to be closely related to salmon.‭ ‬Their bodies are known to have been covered with large scutes that may have provided a degree of protection against some predatory fish.‭ Typical of this species are narrow lower jaws with several series of teeth. Remains of undigested fishes or squids have been found in collected specimens‭

The Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Chalk formation is a Cretaceous conservation Lagerstätte, or fossil-rich geological formation, known primarily for its exceptionally well-preserved marine reptiles. It outcrops in parts of northwest Kansas--its most famous localities for fossils--and in southeastern Nebraska. Large, well-known fossils excavated from the Smoky Hill Chalk include marine reptiles such as plesiosaurs, large bony fish such as Xiphactinus, mosasaurs, pterosaurs, and turtles.