7 of the most terrifying fish in Earth’s history

If you are asked to name the scariest fish in the world, which fish comes to mind first?

I and most people will think of the giant shark from the movie “Jaws.”

But historically, in retrospect, there have been many truly terrifying fish that sharks are no match for.

The fish we’re going to introduce today are ancient fearsome fish that make even great white sharks and bull sharks look cute.

7. Rhizodus hipverty

The size of a killer whale and a bunch of sharp teeth, rhizodus hipburties make sharks even look cute.

This freshwater fish could be said to be the largest freshwater fish ever known (8 meters).

And while most modern giant fish, such as basking sharks and giant manta rays, are docile, this one was extremely aggressive.

It hunts its prey with overwhelming power through powerful muscles, and has excellent ambush and surprise abilities.

The prey was mainly large fish or amphibians at the time, but even if the target was a human, it would have attacked them in an instant.

Fossils of Rhizodus hipverti have been found in sediments of old lakes and rivers in Europe and North America.

Particularly impressive is the dense row of very sharp teeth.

These teeth are anchored very firmly to the jawbone, in contrast to sharks, which are relatively prone to tooth loss.

6. Mega Piranha

Piranhas have razor-sharp teeth, but they are small.

What if these piranhas were about the size of a shark?

That would be the beginning of a nightmare.

In fact, in the Miocene era, piranhas with a body length of 90 cm actually existed.

Looking at this guy, today’s piranhas look like ornamental fish.

Interestingly, this mega piranha is a relative of the neon tetra and cardinal tetra, well-known ornamental tropicals.

If you look at the upper jaw of the mega piranha, you can see that it mainly ate meat, but also ate plants.

Although modern piranhas are omnivores, mega piranhas ate far more plants than this.

For reference, the first mega piranha was discovered in 1900, in Argentina.

5. Encodus amicrodus

Encodus amicrodus , nicknamed “the herring with sword-like teeth,” was a fish that lived from the Late Cretaceous to the Eocene.

It looked similar to the herring or anchovies you see in fish shops, but it was huge, measuring 1.5 meters in length.

It also had sharp knife-like teeth over 5 cm in its mouth.

So, the scientific name of this fish, Encodus, means “tooth like a spear.”

Although it was mentioned earlier that it resembles herring and anchovies, it is actually more closely related to salmon and is widely inhabited worldwide.

If you ran into this one while swimming, you would surely be hacked to death by its agility, powerful jaws and razor-sharp teeth.

4. Eusthenopteron

Eustenopteron is a very aggressive carnivorous fish that lived in the Devonian Period, 370 million years ago.

The scientific name of this fish means “strongly developed fin” in Greek.

Literally,  Eustenopteron’s fins were  the most developed parts of its body, allowing it to pursue its prey like a torpedo. 

In addition, it had a long, smooth body about 1.7 meters in length, a thick skull, and had sharp teeth all the way to the inside of its mouth.

This fish, which succeeded in integrating its rationally designed body and powerful musculature very efficiently, would have reigned as the best hunter of its time.

For reference, fossils of this fish are mainly found in Miguasha National Park in Quebec, Canada.

3. Hyneria

Hyneria, the predator everyone feared.

The body length of this fish was 3.6 meters, and it had a huge body, but it was said that it was very good at surprise.

It approached the prey in an instant and cut off the prey’s breath at once with a large 5cm-long nose.

Also, it was able to cross land and land with its sturdy scales and unbelievably strong muscles.

Animals lounging by the water’s edge were easy prey for Hyneria.

Hyneria mainly ate amphibians and fish, but if it had ever lived, it might have been the most threatening fish to humans.

Finally, Hyneria was first discovered in the town of Heiner, Pennsylvania, USA, from which the name Hyneria derives.

2. Ophiodon Ozymandias

I think that there were many very unusual fish living in prehistoric times.

Among them, there is one that is particularly interesting.

That’s Ophiodon Ozymandias, a relative of the Panoremi.

All the fish introduced so far were ferocious predators with strong muscles and sharp teeth, but this fish somehow looks a bit formidable.

But never be careless. Because if you get bitten by this fish’s big mouth, you’ll never be able to escape.

Ophiodon ozymandias  was about 1.8 meters long and lived camouflaged at the bottom of the water to avoid larger predators.

This fish was found in Southern California, USA, and is believed to have lived during the Miocene.

Also,  while large species such as Ophiodon ozymandias  have become extinct, smaller relatives have survived.

1. Piranhamethon finnatomus

A surprising fish has been discovered in limestone deposits in southern Germany that may unlock the secrets of bony fish evolution.

It was named Piranhamethodon pinnatomus because of its appearance and behavior reminiscent of the small but fearsome fish piranha  .

It had six razor-sharp teeth and serrated teeth in its mouth. A fossil of a victim torn to pieces was also found near this fossil.

In addition, the length of the body reached up to 9cm, and with that small body, it is said that it secretly approached the prey and ate the fins and flesh.

This fish lived in the Jurassic period, 152 million years ago, and was first discovered in 2016.

However, it was only recently that it was properly reported in the journal, in October 2018.

This fish is the oldest predatory fish ever discovered, and its habits are recognized as a good example of convergent evolution.