Two Species of Big Mouthed Fish were discovered

BEACON TRANSCRIPT – An international team of researchers has discovered the remains of two new species of fish. According to their paper, these 6.5-feet fish had a gigantic mouth and were able to gulp down plankton like a vacuum cleaner. The two species of big mouthed fish were discovered in Japan and the United States.

This exceptional new discovery proves that we still have more to learn about our planet’s natural history. Moreover, it looks like the sea still holds its mysteries in a tight grip. These conclusions and many more have been drawn by an international group of scientists who have discovered two new species of fish.

According to the soon-to-be-published paper, the two new species of fish belong to a genus called Rhinconichthys. This new genus is allegedly named after a species of sharks called Rhincodon, or the whale shark.

According to the scientifical literature on the matter, the whale shark is considered the largest nonmammalian invertebrate. Official sources have confirmed that the largest specimen of the species measured approximately 41.5 feet in length and weighed approximately 47.000 lb. It is very likely that the new species of filter feeding fish discovered in the US and Japan are related to the modern whale shark, if we take a closer look at their physical traits.

The new species of big mouthed were dubbed Rhinconichthys purgatoirensis and Rhinconichthys uyenoi. The first species was discovered near Colorado while the other was originally found in Japan.

R.uyenoi, the species found in Japan, were placed in another genus. However, due to the recent discovery in the US which backed up the first species of Rhinconichthys discovered in the United Kingdom at the end of the 19^th century, the Japanese paleontologists decided to reconsider the fish’s genus.

Two species of big mouthed fish were discovered in US and Japan. According to their finding, the ancestors of the modern whale shark lived during the Cretaceous Era, circa 92 million years ago. Like its distant cousin, the two species of fish had large oar-like mouths which they used in order to feed on the local phytoplankton.

According to the specialists, the fish was capable of opening its mouth to great extents, making quick work of any phytoplankton. Using 3D modeling, the scientists have determined that the two species of fish reached a length of 6.5 feet, and, like their distant cousin, they were very rare sights.

The study will be published in the next issue of the International Scientific Journal and, as stated, it represents the fruitful collaboration between the US, UK and Japan.

Photo credits:www.wikipedia.org