Dunkleosteus

Dunkleosteus terrelli · Dunkleosteus was a large extinct armored fish that swam in open waters during the Late Devonian, with fossils found in North America, Europe, Morocco and Russia.

Also called D, Magnificus.

It lived about 382 to 358 million years ago.

Dunkleosteus
Photo: EvolutionIncarnate, CC0
Dunkleosteus
Photo: ДиБгд, CC BY 4.0
Dunkleosteus
Photo: Neil Conway from Oakland, USA, CC BY 2.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassPlacodermi
OrderArthrodira
FamilyDunkleosteidae
GenusDunkleosteus
SpeciesDunkleosteus terrelli

Where its fossils were found

Ohio and Michigan (USA), Canada, Poland, Belgium, Morocco and Russia.

Fun facts

  • Dunkleosteus may have opened its jaws in just 20 milliseconds, finishing the whole open-and-close in 50–60 milliseconds.
  • One estimate of its bite force was among the highest of any animal, living or fossil, though newer research says those estimates may need re-examination.
  • Fossils are often found with piles of half-digested fish bones, suggesting it may have regularly spat out the bones of its prey instead of digesting them.
  • Its armor was thickest at the back of the skull, but across most of the body it was only about 0.33–1 inch thick.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).