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Description
The open sea of the Oxford Clay, 160 million years ago. A huge shoal of Leptolepis macrophthalmus have been harassed and pursued by a mob of Hypsocormus leedsi for the past hour or so. Trapped near the surface by the hungry predators, the baitfish compacted into a baitball for defence, and the Hypsocormus have picked them off at leisure. The commotion has attracted other fish. A Hybodus obtusus patrols the fringes of the feeding frenzy, picking off any stragglers or injured fish. But the activity of the baitball has also attracted a giant; a Leedsichthys problematicus. The colossal 16 metre pachycormid fish is usually a planktonivore, but this one is craving a different meal. It moves with surprising speed for such a large fish, and opens its’ massive jaws, catching any Leptolepis that fail to swim out of the way in time. Those that do are further picked off by the other predators as they scatter. Together, these opportunitists will make short work of the shoal, and when finished, they will leave only scales sinking into the abyss.

This is my contribution to Fossil Fish Week, and also based on a sketch I did depicting a similar scene from a few years ago (www.deviantart.com/rahonavis70… ). The concept remains very much based on the scene in The Blue Planet where a baitball already under fire from marlin and tuna becomes further decimated by a sei whale, along with the possibility that Leedsichthys, much like whale sharks, may have occasionally eaten fish while being predominantly planktonivorous.

Happy Fossil Fish Week, folks!

Description
The open sea of the Oxford Clay, 160 million years ago. A huge shoal of Leptolepis macrophthalmus have been harassed and pursued by a mob of Hypsocormus leedsi for the past hour or so. Trapped near the surface by the hungry predators, the baitfish compacted into a baitball for defence, and the Hypsocormus have picked them off at leisure. The commotion has attracted other fish. A Hybodus obtusus patrols the fringes of the feeding frenzy, picking off any stragglers or injured fish. But the activity of the baitball has also attracted a giant; a Leedsichthys problematicus. The colossal 16 metre pachycormid fish is usually a planktonivore, but this one is craving a different meal. It moves with surprising speed for such a large fish, and opens its’ massive jaws, catching any Leptolepis that fail to swim out of the way in time. Those that do are further picked off by the other predators as they scatter. Together, these opportunitists will make short work of the shoal, and when finished, they will leave only scales sinking into the abyss.

This is my contribution to Fossil Fish Week, and also based on a sketch I did depicting a similar scene from a few years ago (www.deviantart.com/rahonavis70… ). The concept remains very much based on the scene in The Blue Planet where a baitball already under fire from marlin and tuna becomes further decimated by a sei whale, along with the possibility that Leedsichthys, much like whale sharks, may have occasionally eaten fish while being predominantly planktonivorous.

Happy Fossil Fish Week, folks!