It was first studied by prolific American paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh. He published his brief 1877 type description in the American Journal of Science. Two years later Edward Drinker Cope, rival to Marsh, published a description for a ray specimen giving it the name Xiphotrygon acutidens.
The initial research on this creature was conducted by renowned American paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh. He described it in 1877 in the American Journal of Science. Two years later, Edward Drinker Cope, a rival to Marsh, published a description for a ray specimen, naming it Xiphotrygon acutidens.