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Ichthyodectiformes
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<p>Ichthyodectiformes is an <a href="/facts/Extinction/24p5NP2q">extinct</a> order of marine stem-<a href="/facts/Teleost/1YULPGW5">teleost</a> <a href="/facts/Ray-finned_fish/3PNaXXmJ">ray-finned fish</a>. The order is named after the genus <i><a href="/facts/Ichthyodectes/2qrMbKxz">Ichthyodectes</a></i>, established by <a href="/facts/Edward_Drinker_Cope/Wup4Ic7k">Edward Drinker Cope</a> in 1870. Ichthyodectiforms are usually considered to be some of the closest relatives of the teleost <a href="/facts/Crown_group/fHDhwp5x">crown group</a>. </p><p>They were most diverse throughout the <a href="/facts/Cretaceous/nwKtFtKx">Cretaceous</a> period, though basal forms like <i><a href="/facts/Thrissops/Vx8lFY9V">Thrissops</a>, <a href="/facts/Occithrissops/0NjGzhRK">Occithrissops</a></i> and <i><a href="/facts/Allothrissops/P9t6mBDB">Allothrissops</a></i> are known from the Middle-<a href="/facts/Late_Jurassic/NzU9rlnL">Late Jurassic</a> of Europe and North America. They were almost entirely wiped out by the <a href="/facts/Cretaceous%25E2%2580%2593Paleogene_extinction_event/HNyDuEcx">Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event</a>, but a single species, <i><a href="/facts/Saurocephalus/9XKWpTSL">Saurocephalus lanciformis</a></i>, appears to have survived into the earliest <a href="/facts/Paleocene/IWWoh8D9">Paleocene</a> (<a href="/facts/Danian/7kD8PDUv">Danian</a>). </p><p>Most ichthyodectiforms ranged between 1 and 5 meters (3.3 and 16.4 ft) in length. Most of known <a href="/facts/Taxa/caQC1e87">taxa</a> were <a href="/facts/Predator/JEGdrX3f">predators</a>, feeding on smaller fish; in several cases, larger ichthyodectiforms preyed on smaller members of the order. Some <a href="/facts/Species/oDg6b96r">species</a> had remarkably large teeth, though others, such as <i><a href="/facts/Gillicus_arcuatus/v8DdnNmQ">Gillicus arcuatus</a></i>, had small ones and sucked in their prey. <i>Heckelichthys preopercularis</i> is a rare example of non-predatory ichthyodectiform, more likely to be microphagous, fed on small particles. There is evidence that at least one species, <i><a href="/facts/Xiphactinus_audax/MA2zuApT">Xiphactinus audax</a></i>, may have been <a href="/facts/Endotherm/qs3DIGHx">endothermic</a> ("warm-blooded"). Another genus, <i>Dugaldia</i>, may have been able to laterally open its mouth extremely wide in a manner akin to the modern <a href="/facts/Sarcastic_fringehead/vj9T0JVV">sarcastic fringehead</a>. </p>