Rhinconichthys

Rhinconichthys is an extinct genus of bony fish which existed during the Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous.^[2]

Rhinconichthys Temporal range: Cenomanian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	†Pachycormiformes
Family:	†Pachycormidae
Genus:	†Rhinconichthys Friedman et al., 2010
Species
†R. taylori Friedman et al., 2010 †R. purgatoirensis Schumacher et al., 2016[1] †R. uyenoi Schumacher et al., 2016[1]

Along with its close cousins the great-white-shark-sized or larger Bonnerichthys and the immense Leedsichthys, Rhinconichthys forms a line of giant filter-feeding bony pachycormid fish that swam the Jurassic and Cretaceous seas for over 100 million years.

Etymology

The generic name was chosen as a homophone of an unpublished name (“Rhynchonichthys”) coined by Gideon Mantell, and is meant to evoke the generic name of the whale shark, Rhincodon. ^[2]

Description

Rhinconichthys was a medium-sized fish. R. uyenoi grew to around 3.4–4.5 metres (11–15 ft) long, while R. purgatoirensis was much smaller, around 2–2.7 metres (6.6–8.9 ft) long.^[1]