Leedsichthys

Leedsichthys is an extinct genus of giant Jurassic pachycormid fish known from fragmentary fossils in Europe. It was a filter feeder and one of the largest bony fish known.

Pachycormidae: Pachycormidae is an extinct group of Mesozoic ray-finned fishes that included giant filter feeders and predatory forms. Leedsichthys belongs to this diverse group of Jurassic and Cretaceous fishes.
Pharyngeal arches: Pharyngeal arches are embryonic structures that develop into parts of the jaws, throat, and related anatomy in vertebrates. Gill-arch structures in Leedsichthys are central to reconstructions of its filter-feeding apparatus.
Peterborough: Peterborough is a city in eastern England near important Jurassic marine fossil deposits. Fossils from the Peterborough area helped establish Leedsichthys as a distinct genus.
Fossil: A fossil is preserved evidence of past life, including remains, impressions, or traces. Leedsichthys is known mainly from incomplete fossil bones rather than whole skeletons.
Ray-finned fish: Ray-finned fish are vertebrates whose fins are supported by thin bony or cartilaginous rays. Its bony fin rays place Leedsichthys among the ray-finned fishes.
Plankton: Plankton are organisms that drift in water and cannot swim effectively against currents. Small drifting organisms are the likely food source behind Leedsichthys's filter-feeding lifestyle.
Oxford Clay: The Oxford Clay is a Jurassic marine formation in southern and eastern England rich in fossils. Many Leedsichthys remains came from this formation's marine sediments.
Paleontology: Paleontology is the scientific study of ancient life through fossils and geological evidence. Its anatomy and ecology must be inferred from limited fossil evidence.
Filter feeding: Filter feeding is the extraction of small food particles from water passed through a feeding structure. Leedsichthys likely strained small organisms from seawater rather than hunting large prey.
Gigantism: Gigantism is the evolution or occurrence of body sizes far larger than those typical of a related group. Leedsichthys raises questions about how filter feeding can support exceptional body size.

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Plesiosaur locomotionCompared with: Its fish-like body and tail propulsion offer a contrasting solution for moving through the same seas.