Trichiurides sagittidens
Trichiurides sagittidens
Summary
Trichiurides sagittidens was a predatory teleost known almost entirely from distinctive laniary teeth. The teeth are tall, narrow and strongly recurved, with a sharp cutting edge and a large posterior barb. This is direct evidence for a prey-grasping dentition designed to resist escape once a fish or other soft-bodied animal had been impaled.
Its precise systematic position remains uncertain because isolated teeth provide far less anatomical information than a skull or skeleton. The feeding function, however, is much clearer than the ancestry: these were specialised predatory teeth, not crushing or grazing structures. The species is therefore best understood as a tooth-defined carnivorous morphotype within the London Clay teleost fauna.
Quick Identification
Look for: a tall narrow fang with a strongly backward-curved tip, a sharp anterior cutting carina and a conspicuous enamel barb on the posterior edge; the lower part of the crown is more rounded in section and surrounds a shallow basal pulp cavity.
Diagnostic Features
- Crown is tall, narrow and laterally compressed near the apex.
- Tip curves strongly posteriorly while pointing slightly forward at its extreme end.
- Anterior margin bears a sharp continuous cutting carina.
- Posterior crown carries a large, distinct enamel barb.
- Basal section is nearly circular and contains a shallow central pulp cavity.
Fossil Details
Recorded Fossil Sites
London Clay Formation
References
- Casier, E. (1966). Faune ichthyologique du London Clay. 496 pp.. Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History), London View reference
- Friedman, M.; Beckett, H. T.; Close, R. A.; Johanson, Z. (2016). The English Chalk and London Clay: two remarkable British bony fish Lagerstätten. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 430(1), 165–200. Geological Society of London, London View reference