1.9" Xiphactinus Audax Fossil Vertebrae Cretaceous Era Fish Niobrara FM Kansas

Location: Niobrara Formation, Gove County, Kansas

Weight: 0.6 Ounces 

Dimensions: 1.9 Inches Long, 1.2 Inches Wide, 0.5 Inches Thick

Late Cretaceous, 83 million years old

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This is a real fossil

Xiphactinus Audax was one of the largest bony fish of the Late Cretaceous period and is often regarded as one of the ocean’s fiercest predators. Reaching lengths of up to 17 feet (5 meters), this massive fish powered through the ancient seas with its strong tail and broad, winglike pectoral fins. Its upturned jaw, packed with giant fang-like teeth, gave it a bulldog-like appearance and allowed it to snare fish, squid, and even seabirds.

Remarkably, a 13-foot (4-meter) Xiphactinus could swallow prey as large as six feet (2 meters) in a single gulp—fossil evidence even preserves whole fish inside its stomach. Despite its ferocity, it sometimes fell victim to the giant shark Cretoxyrhina.

This predator thrived in the Western Interior Seaway, a vast inland sea that once stretched across central North America during the Cretaceous. If it were alive today, Xiphactinus would resemble an enormous, fanged tarpon—an apex predator built for speed and power.