Natural History - Fossil Enchodus Tooth
Cretaceous Period, circa 145-65 million years B.P. The fang tooth with a section of the jaw, set on a sandstone matrix. 508 grams, 14.2 cm (5 1/2 in.).

From Morocco, North Africa. From a Lincolnshire, UK, collection.

The Enchodus fish is an extinct genus of bony fish. It flourished during the Upper Cretaceous and later and was small to medium in size. One of the genus's most notable attributes are the large 'fangs' at the front of the upper and lower jaws and on the palatine bones, leading to its misleading nickname among paleoichthyologists, 'the saber-toothed herring'; these fangs, along with a long sleek body and large eyes, suggest Enchodus was a predatory species. [No Reserve]