Quick Facts

Protosphyraena gladius
Pronounced (PRO-TOE-SFY-RAY-NA GLAD-I-US)


 

Nickname: "KUVP 60692"
Discovery Western Kansas
Diet: Unknown
Period: Late Cretaceous
Age: 83 million years
Formation: Niobrara Chalk
Length: Unknown
Location of Original Specimen: RMDRC, Woodland Park, CO

Collected in 1970, this giant fish has sat in storage at the University of Kansas for years. Protosphyraena gladius is an extremely rare cretaceous fish, and this is the ONLY skull ever discovered. Scientific description of the specimen will follow our preparation efforts, possibly resulting in this animal being given a new name!

Pictures

Prep is nearly complete, but the hard part, restoration and reconstruction of the skulls still lays ahead. We will be working with some of the top scientists in the field to accurately reconstruct it for the first time!

 

The sclerotic rings are embedded in the eyeball of the fish. These show the eyeball was well over 5 inches in diameter, over twice the size of those on out 17 foot Xiphactinus.


The huge cliethrum, analogous to the shoulder of a tetrapod animal.

These bones supported the gills of the animal while alive.


One of the "mystery bones" in this jacket. Identification of all of these elements will be completed before any attempt to reconstruct the skull is carried out.



Field Notes

Though discovered nearly forty years ago, the jacket protected the skeleton very well. It was removed in a "Sternberg jacket" where a wooden frame is constructed around the animal, and plaster is poured over and left to solidify. The entire block is then undercut and flipped for removal from the field. Preparation is then done to the underside. Technology has advanced in paleontological preservation chemicals in recent years, so even though the old consolodants did their job and protected the skeleton well, they must now be removed and replaced.

Lab Notes

Extremely soft but typical fish bone (flakey, but prepares well if you go slow). Air abrasion is the most commonly used tool, with pressures rarely exceeding 40psi. The bone is absolutely gorgeous, and molding with a special silicone much like "Dragon Skin" will give us plastic copies to work with. This is essential, as the bones tend to get flattened during burial in the chalk.