Prehistoric giant fish could grow more than 16 metres long

The skeletal remains of the biggest fish ever to have swum the seas have revealed just how massive the prehistoric creature could grow. The Leedsichthys was a huge bony, plankton-eating fish that lived in the Middle Jurassic period around 165 million years ago. A number of skeletal remains of the creature have been uncovered over the years but haven't preserved well, meaning no-one was really sure just how large the fish could grow. Now an international team of researchers from National Museums Scotland and the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh have deduced the Leedsichthys could grow to eight or nine metres in 20 years and reach 16.5 metres in length in 38 years. The experts believe their findings reveal an important missing piece in the evolutionary story of fish, mammals and ocean ecosystems. Professor Jeff Liston of National Museums Scotland, said: "The giant plankton-feeders we know to live in today's oceans are among the largest living vertebrate animals alive. The Leedsichthys was the first animal known to occupy this role.