How big is a Dunkleosteus?
Up to 20 feet in length and weighing more than 1 ton, this arthrodire fish was capable of chopping prehistoric sharks into chum! Dunkleosteus had a massive skull made of thick, bony plates, and 2 sets of fang-like protrusions near the front of powerful, self-sharpening jawbones.
What happened to the placoderms?
During the Devonian, placoderms went on to inhabit and dominate almost all known aquatic ecosystems, both freshwater and saltwater. But this diversity ultimately suffered many casualties during the extinction event at the Frasnian–Famennian boundary, the Late Devonian extinctions.
What did placoderms look like?
Most placoderms were small or moderate in size, but a few may have reached a length of 13 feet (4 metres). The name is derived from their characteristic armour of dermal, or skin, bones. This armour formed a head shield and a trunk shield, the two commonly connected by a paired joint in the neck region.
When did placoderms go extinct?
360 million years ago
Placoderms dominated aquatic environments for 70 million years until they suddenly went extinct some 360 million years ago, paving the way for modern bony fish (osteichthyans) and sharks and rays (chondrichthyans).
What does a Dunkleosteus look like?
Dunkleosteus looked like the violent brute it was: powerfully built and armour-plated round its head. It was streamlined and shark-like. Dunkleosteus lacked true teeth, instead it had two long bony blades that could snap and crush almost anything. It ate fish, sharks and even its own kind.
Where does a Dunkleosteus live?
Distribution: North America, Europe, and Morrocco: Dunkleosteus specimens are found nearly globally, however the world famous specimens come from the Cleveland shale in Northern Ohio. Dunkleosteus became extinct along with all other Placoderms during the Devonian mass extinction event.
Did Sharks evolve from placoderms?
The evolution of fish began about 530 million years ago during the Cambrian explosion. They are first represented in the fossil record from the Silurian by two groups of fish: the armoured fish known as placoderms, which evolved from the ostracoderms; and the Acanthodii (or spiny sharks).
Did placoderms have teeth?
The new analyses reveal that placoderms, which lived from about 420 million years ago to about 360 million years ago, had true teeth with dentine and pulp cavities, the researchers report online today in Nature.
Did sharks evolve from placoderms?
Is a Dunkleosteus a dinosaur?
The Dunkleosteus lived 130-150 million years before the first dinosaurs. It was a fearless hunter who could snap incredibly fast and ate large sharks, and even its own kind if no other prey was to be found. Fossils of fish, which were only half digested, have often been discovered alongside its skeleton.
What was a Dunkleosteus prey?
Dunkleosteus grew up to 33 feet long and was the largest of a group of armor-plated predatory fish, the placoderms. The top ocean predator of the time, its prey could have included early sharks, large nautiluslike mollusks, arthropods and other placoderms, Westneat says.
What was the lifespan of a Dunkleosteus?
The lifespan of a Dunkleosteus is unknown but it lived 360-370 million years ago during the Devonian period.