Clash of Aquatic Titans: Hyneria vs Xiphactinus

Hyneria vs Xiphactinus

Hyneria- from Hyner

Fighter Size-

4.3 meters long and 1.4 tons

Weapons-

Sharp teeth, agility, speed, extra fins, and powerful bite

Weaknesses-

Smaller of two fighters

Xiphactinus- sword ray

Fighter Size-

5.8 meters long and 2.1 tons

Weapons-

Sharp teeth and size

Weaknesses-

Slower and oddly shaped jaws

Setting- Coral reef

FIGHT!

A large male Xiphactinus is chasing down his prey. A juvenile Hyneria is desperately trying to escape his jaws. As the adults leave the ocean to go breed up river, the juveniles are leaving the rivers and entering into the shallows. They may be dangerous, but for a Xiphactinus, a young Hyneria is a tasty meal. He catches up with the young fish and grabs it by the tail. He works it deeper into his jaws and swallows the fish whole. His jaws are perfect for grabbing smaller prey, though he has trouble dealing with larger animals due to their strange shape.

Not far away, a female Hyneria is heading for the mouth of the river to lay her eggs. As she enters the coral reefs surrounding the shallows, she notices something. The Xiphactinus is patrolling the area and won’t let anything in his territory. If she wants to lay her eggs, she just might have to fight her way through.

The Xiphactinus sees her coming in and views her as a rival. He speeds forward, jaws open. It’s not an outright attack, but rather an intimidation tactic. The Hyneria stops short and clatters her jaws together while turning to the side. Doing this, she extends all of her fins, making herself look bigger. Then, she flushes them full of blood, turning them into a vivid pink. The startled Xiphactinus does a similar tactic and his stripes become a darker black in a show of aggression. It’s clear intimidation will not work. They must fight it out. The fish charge each other as storm clouds gather in the sky above.

The Hyneria dives below the Xiphactinus and comes up behind him. She whirls around and goes for his tail. But the larger fish manages to swim out of the way, her powerful jaws narrowly missing his tail fin. The Xiphactinus turns and slams into the Hyneria, knocking her back a few yards. She counters by outflanking the larger fish and going for his gills. He speeds out of the way, though her teeth slash through his flank. The Xiphactinus backs off a bit, blood seeping through his injuries. He sets his eyes on one of her many fins and prepares to attack.

He goes in with his bulldog like jaws and tear into a fin. She lashes out with her own jaws and rips his dorsal fin to ribbons. He lets her fin go and she gets some distance between them. The Xiphactinus moves in for another attack. He charges at full speed. However, the lighter and faster Hyneria speeds out of the way and he misses. Instead, he smashes into a head of coral, getting a splitting headache. As the two killers duke it out, they fail to notice the worsening weather conditions.

High above the ocean surface, the clouds continue to darken. The wind speeds pick up and rain begins to fall. Somewhere in the distance, a bolt of lightning strikes, followed by a crack of thunder. The waves become larger and the water conditions worsen. The winds pick up and speeds in excess of 80 miles an hour rip through the sky. A tropical storm is brewing.

Meanwhile, the carnivorous fish continue to do battle. The Hyneria attacks, slashing through the tail fin of the Xiphactinus. He turns and attempts to bite her flank. His teeth sink in, but the odd shape of his jaws mean he can’t really close them on a larger animal. He wrenches his teeth out, leaving deep, but relatively ineffective, puncture marks. The Hyneria is quick to strike back. She turns and goes for his softer stomach. He manages to get out of the way, though not completely. She closes her strong jaws on the lower stomach of the Xiphactinus, causing some nasty bleeding and injuries. They face each other again, their eyes filled with hate.

As the weather gets worse, the Hyneria begins to finally notice. She makes a mad dash for the safer river and shore. If she can reach it, she can use her extra flippers to haul herself out and wait out the storm. The sea bound Xiphactinus must deal with the storm instead. He charges after her, but a huge current shoves him aside, slamming into a coral reef. The Hyneria summons all of her extra strength and speed and charges for shore. She enters the river and beaches herself. She can stay out of the water for an hour or two, and the pouring down rain should help.

The Xiphactinus is having a much harder time dealing with the storm. He can’t see through the blood and grit filled water. The powerful currents and waves thrash him around and slam him into coral. As he struggles to survive, a huge wave comes across the ocean. Rising a hundred feet into the air, it picks him and just about every other marine animal up and brings them to the beach. The Xiphactinus is slammed into the shore and is almost immediately swept back out to sea.

An hour and a half later, the storm finally calms. The bruised and battered body of the Xiphactinus floats lifelessly through the ocean. Between the storm and the injuries inflicted by the Hyneria, he stood no chance.

Back on shore, the female Hyneria prepares to enter into the river. She lugs her huge bulk into the water and heads for the spawning grounds. She finally lays her thousands of eggs. Her goal complete, her life slowly ebbs away from her body. The life cycle is complete. Now her body will help to feed the next generation.

Winner- Hyneria

The two predators were a good match, but the determination to lay her eggs and continue the legacy of her species allowed the Hyneria to win the day(plus a little help from a tropical storms).

Next time on Clash of Aquatic Titans...

Elasmosaurus. It was a snake strung through the body of a turtle. It was the real Loch Ness Monster. Cymbospondylus was one of the first ichthyosaurs and an ichthyosaur from hell nonetheless. Find out what happens when these two huge carnivores go head to head only on Clash of Aquatic Titans.

Please note there is no evidence that Hyneria travelled from rivers to oceans for breeding purposes. That was simply used for pure entertainment purposes.

PS- Between school and work, I will not be posting any fights tomorrow or Friday.