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herofan135 — Xiphactinus

Published: 2012-07-11 13:55:11 +0000 UTC; Views: 1936; Favourites: 25; Downloads: 0
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Description Animal group: Actinopterygians
Age: 87-65 million years ago.
Period: Cretaceous.
Range: North america.
Length: 6 meters.
Diet: Carnivorous.
Number in park: One female and two males.
Danger level: Adults view humans as food, very dangerous.

The first fish ever to be cloned, Xiphactinus were chosen because of its odd appearance and large size. The cloned embryos hatched into very tiny and vulnearable fry that drifted with the currents and were fed animal plankton for the first weeks. As they grew they started to look like small adults and grouped together in shoals. The would chase prey at high speeds and a keeper nearly lost a finger once when they jumped out of the water to grab the food she was holding. As they grew they got faster and even more skilled at jumping, and safety nets had to be placed over the tank to avoid that the fish accidentely jumped out of the tank. They also became increasingly aggresive as they got larger, and weak and small individuals would fall victim to the larger ones. Only three of twenty individuals made it to adulthood, and adults tends to spend time alone, crusing the tank in search of food. Anything that is half their own size is considered fair game, and they don't ambush their prey, but will instead chase after it. Tests have shown that they can reach a staggering 60 mph when chasing prey.

TRIVIA
The Xiphactinus tank have several marks on the glass window that faces the pathway, because the fish charge the glass whenever a keeper walks by in an attempt to catch them.
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Comments: 2

Nevert013 [2016-03-22 20:16:42 +0000 UTC]

I drew a xiphactinus that is similar to yours; I will give you credit. 

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

herofan135 In reply to Nevert013 [2016-03-28 18:52:26 +0000 UTC]

Thanks pal, much appreciated!
Would love to see yours?

👍: 0 ⏩: 0