Fish species in the Western Interior Seaway
The Western Interior Seaway, was a large inland sea that started to expand in the early Cretaceous period, though geological evidence suggests it started to expand in the late Jurassic period. It existed at its fullest extent from the mid-late Cretaceous period. At its greatest extent it was 600 miles (970 km) wide, 2,000 miles (3,200 km) long, and had a depth maximum depth of 2,500 feet (760 m).
Various different species of fish existed in the Western Interior Seaway, throughout its 30 million time frame. Examples of which
| Class | Genus | Extent | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chondrichthyes | Cretolamna | Cretaceous-Miocene | Kansas |
| Chondrichthyes | Cretoxyrhina | Cenomanian-Campanian | Kansas |
| Chondrichthyes | Odontaspis | Cretaceous | Delaware |
| Chondrichthyes | Ptychodus | Albian-Maastrichtian | Kansas |
| Chondrichthyes | Scapanorhynchus | Cretaceous-Miocene | Worldwide |
| Chondrichthyes | Squalicorax | Cenomanian-Campanian | Wyoming |
| Osteichthyes | Micropycnodon | Santonian | Colorado |
| Actinopterygii | Bananogmius | Santonian-Maastrichtian | South Dakota |
| Actinopterygii | Belonostomus | Cenomanian-Masstrichtian | Montana |
| Actinopterygii | Cimolichthys | Cenomanian-Masstrichtian | Canada |
| Actinopterygii | Elopopsis | Cenomanian-Campanian | Colorado |
| Actinopterygii | Enchodus | Cretaceous-Paleogene | Colorado |
| Actinopterygii | Gyrodus | Jurassic-Cretaceous | Canada |
| Actinopterygii | Leptecodon | Santonian | Kansas |
| Actinopterygii | Pachyrhizodus | Cenomanian-Maastrichtian | South Dakota |
| Actinopterygii | Protosphyraena | Coniacian-Maastrichtian | Kansas |
| Actinopterygii | Saurodon | Coniacian-Santonian | Tennessee |
| Actinopterygii | Stratodus | Santonian-Maastrichtian | Alabama |
| Actinopterygii | Xiphactinus | Albian-Maastrichtian | Colorado |
References[edit]
- Nicholls, Elizabeth L., and Russell, Anthony P. "Paleobiogeography of the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway of North America: the vertebrate evidence." Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 79(1990):149-169
- Spencer, Lucas G., and Sullivan M. Robert. Late Cretaceous vertebrates from the Western Interior. Albuquerque: New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science, 2006. Bulletin 35 http://econtent.unm.edu/cdm/ref/collection/bulletins/id/710