Prehistoric Planet Store - Dunkleosteus, model

Descripción

Dunkleosteus, the biggest member of the family Dinichthyidae ("terrible fishes"), was a heavily armored primitive fish from the late Devonian period, about 360 million years ago. 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 was over 2 feet (65 cm) long. It had a jointed neck, an eel-like tail, a scale-less body, and hinged body shields. Dunkleosteus was not a shark but a placoderm with a shark-like tail. It may have eaten sharks. Fossils have been found in Morocco, Africa, Poland, Belgium, China, and the USA.