Onchosaurus
Extinct genus of cartilaginous fishes
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Onchosaurus is an extinct genus of sclerorhynchoid fish from the Late Cretaceous (84.9 to 66.043 million years ago). Its fossils have been found in the Cretaceous sediments of Egypt, Brazil, Congo, Morocco, France, Niger, Japan, Colombia, Chile,[1] Peru and the United States.[2]
| Onchosaurus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, | |
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| Fossil vertebrae of Onchosaurus marocanus from Khouribga (Morocco) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Order: | Rajiformes |
| Suborder: | †Sclerorhynchoidei |
| Genus: | †Onchosaurus Gervais, 1852 |
| Type species | |
| †Onchosaurus radicalis Gervais, 1852 | |
| Species | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Description
These sclerorhynchid sawskates are only known by isolated vertebra and rostral spines. On the basis of fossil findings they are considered large, bottom-dwelling fishes, mainly inhabiting shallow marine habitats, but they were also powerful swimmers.[3]
