Dunkleosteus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dunkleosteus Temporal range: 380–360 Ma Late Devonian |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Dunkleosteus skull, Queensland Museum | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | †Placodermi |
| Order: | †Arthrodira |
| Family: | †Dinichthyidae |
| Genus: | †Dunkleosteus Lehman, 1956 |
| Species | |
| Synonyms | |
|
|
Dunkleosteus was a prehistoric fish are biggest member of the family Dinichthyidae ("terrible fishes"). It was a heavily armored primitive fish from the Late Devonian period, living about 360 million years ago. Dunkleosteus was not a shark but a placoderm with a shark-like tail. Fossils have been found in Morocco, Africa, Poland, Belgium, China, and the USA.
Description [change]
This top predator was up to 11.5 ft (3.5 m) long and had large, scissor-like cutting jaws with serrated, razor-sharp bones, but no teeth. Its skull was over 2 feet (65 cm) long. It had a jointed neck, an eel-like tail, a scale-less body, and hinged body shields.
