US DOLLAR
EURO
AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR
CANADIAN DOLLAR
POUND STERLING
Product Description
All found in association with fossil Megalodon, Mako and Great White shark teeth, this is a fantastic SEVEN PIECE collection of various fossils from prehistoric billfish, mostly fossil vertebrae of swordfish and spearfish that lived at the same time as these large ancient sharks. These billfish fossils were likely the remains from fish fed upon by these sharks considering their proximity to the many fossil shark teeth they were found with. The prehistoric swordfish was one of the primary food sources of the Megalodon shark, as well as prehistoric Great White sharks and the giant Mako shark, Isurus hastalis. Fossil shark teeth collections would be greatly enhanced by the inclusion in their display, of billfish fossils such as this, as the two co-existed in the ancient seas.
Perfect for teaching aids or educational display, fossil hunts for children, or a really cool collection to scatter around fossil shark teeth of Megalodon, Great White and Isurus sharks. Unlike fossil whale teeth that are shed by the hundreds over the life of the whale, fossil bones are fragile and considerably more scarce and limited in numbers, rarely surviving the ravages of time.
HISTORY
Billfish is the common name for any of the large, predatory marine fish comprising the families Istiophoridae and Xiphiidae of the Perciformes order, characterized by large size, elongate premxillary bill, two anal fins, and pectoral fins low on the body. The Xiphiidae family has one extant member, Xiphias gladius, known as the swordfish. The Istiophoriidae has about 11 species commonly (but not exclusively) placed in three genera: the sailfishes comprising genus Istiophorus, the spearfishes of genus Tetrapturus, and the marlins of genus Makaira.
While the various billfishes are most common in tropical and subtropical waters, the swordfish in particular is sometimes found in temperate waters as well.
Billfishes are important apex predators feeding on a wide variety of smaller fish and cephalopods, including squids, octopuses, dolphins, mackerels, and tunas. And young billfish play a role in the marine food chains as food for sharks, among other predators. For humans, billfishes are prized both as food and as game fish, being popular in the later cause both for their large size and strong fight, including acrobat leaps out of the water.