Dastilbe

Dastilbe fossil from Brazil

Dastilbe is an extinct genus of prehistoric bony fish. It could reach a length of 25-60 mm, with a maximum length of about 150 mm.

It was probably an anadromous fish, meaning it lived most of its life in the sea but swam to fresh water to spawn (reproduce). Larger individuals of this predatory fish fed on smaller fishes and probably they were cannibalistic.

It is closely related to the milkfish, Chanos chanos.

Description

Dastilbe resembled a slender palaeonisciform fish, but the "cannibal fish" wasn't part of the order Palaeonisciformes.

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