Another Sternberg “Fish-within-a-Fish” Discovery: First Report ofIchthyodectes ctenodon(Teleostei; Ichthyodectiformes) with Stomach Contents

Abstract

George F. Sternberg is well remembered for collecting the famous “Fish-within-a-fish” specimen, a 2 m Gillicus preserved inside a 4 m Xiphactinus specimen, from the Late Cretaceous Smoky Hill Chalk of Gove County, Kansas in 1952. Another, much earlier collected “fish-within-a-fish” specimen was rediscovered recently in storage at Park University, Parkville, Missouri. It was collected by G.F. Sternberg's father, Charles H. Sternberg, who sold it and other specimens to the university from his laboratory in Lawrence, Kansas. A letter dated March 24, 1919 accompanying the materials confirmed that the sale occurred just prior to the elder Sternberg moving to his retirement in California. Most importantly, this specimen is the only known example of Ichthyodectes ctenodon Cope 1870 with stomach contents. Although most of the prey fish was lost due to erosion prior to discovery, it has been tentatively identified as Enchodus petrosus from the characteristics of the caudal fin, vertebrae, and overall size. Due to ...