Prehistoric ANCHOVIES evolved terrifying fangs and an enormous sabre-tooth 66million years ago

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You wouldn’t fancy that on a pizza: Prehistoric ANCHOVIES evolved terrifying fangs and an enormous sabre-tooth 66million years ago

  • Two prehistoric species of anchovy were found in Belgium and Pakistan 
  • Analysis of the fossilised remains revealed the unusual dentition of the fish 
  • They had sharp fangs on the bottom jaw and a lone sabre-tooth on the top jaw   
  • The now-extinct fish evolved 66million years ago to fill roles left vacant after large predators went extinct  

By Joe Pinkstone For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

Anchovies today are a rather nondescript fish often found on top of pizzas. 

However, a relative of the modern-day anchovy that lived just after the dinosaurs were wiped out 66million years ago looked extremely different. 

A team of US-based researchers found two prehistoric anchovy species with vicious fangs and a huge single sabre-tooth protruding from the upper jaw. 

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A relative of the modern-day anchovy that lived just after the dinosaurs went extinct 66million years ago had vicious fangs on its bottom jaw and a huge single sabre-tooth protruding from its upper jaw (pictured, artist’s impression)

The University of Michigan scientists say the existence of this predatory fish with ‘a single, massive vomerine fang’ is testament to the ‘extraordinary evolutionary tinkering’ that went on following the end-Cretaceous extinction. 

Two fossils, found in Belgium and Pakistan, were analysed using high-resolution CT scans to reveal as much information about the specimen as possible.  

This non-invasive method studied two closely-related species believed to belong to the anchovy family, called Clupeopsis straeleni and Monosmilus chureloide. 

Fragments of the fish’s head were found but no bones survived to show what the animal’s body looked like. 

This makes gauging their exact size difficult but Clupeopsis and Monosmilus may have grown up to 20 inches and 40 inches, respectively, the scientists believe.  

Pictured, the cranial anatomy of Clupeopsis straeleni as revealed by the CT scans. This extinct fish may have grown to be around 20 inches long and was likely a predator that ate other fish. Bottom left in light blue shows the sharp fangs on the bottom jaw. Bottom centre reveals the large sabre-tooth from the top jaw. Other images are scans or sketches of the fossil fragments

Pictured, the cranial anatomy of Clupeopsis straeleni as revealed by the CT scans. This extinct fish may have grown to be around 20 inches long and was likely a predator that ate other fish. Bottom left in light blue shows the sharp fangs on the bottom jaw. Bottom centre reveals the large sabre-tooth from the top jaw. Other images are scans or sketches of the fossil fragments 

This predatory fish was larger than its extant relatives and is an example of the spectacular diversity that emerged after the demise of the dinosaurs. 

A huge number of species were wiped out 66million years ago, with predators and the largest animals hardest hit. 

The disappearance of these animals created vacancies throughout the ecosystems, and novel animals evolved to exploit these unoccupied ecological niches.

Huge survival pressure drove many animals to evolve and adapt to capitalise on the new dynamic and many developed extreme features as a result.

The full findings are published in the journal Royal Society Open Science. 

How the dinosaurs went extinct around 66million years ago

Dinosaurs ruled and dominated Earth around 66 million years ago, before they suddenly went extinct. 

The Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event is the name given to this mass extinction.

It was believed for many years that the changing climate destroyed the food chain of the huge reptiles. 

In the 1980s, paleontologists discovered a layer of iridium.

This is an element that is rare on Earth but is found  in vast quantities in space.  

When this was dated, it coincided precisely with when the dinosaurs disappeared from the fossil record. 

A decade later, scientists uncovered the massive Chicxulub Crater at the tip of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, which dates to the period in question. 

Scientific consensus now says that these two factors are linked and they were both probably caused by an enormous asteroid crashing to Earth.

With the projected size and impact velocity, the collision would have caused an enormous shock-wave and likely triggered seismic activity. 

The fallout would have created plumes of ash that likely covered all of the planet and made it impossible for dinosaurs to survive. 

Other animals and plant species had a shorter time-span between generations which allowed them to survive.

There are several other theories as to what caused the demise of the famous animals. 

One early theory was that small mammals ate dinosaur eggs and another proposes that toxic angiosperms (flowering plants) killed them off.