Ancient Seas #5
Dunkleosteus Dunkleosteus skull. Photo from Earth Touch Kingdom: Animalia Class: Placodermi Conservation Status: Extinct (EX) Found: Northern Hemisphere (based on fossil locations) Era: Late Devonian Lived: 358-382 million years ago Diet: Carnivorous, most likely other armoured fish Weight: 1 tonne* Size: 6m (19.7ft)* Habitat: Deep water *Based on the largest of the ten known species. Dunkleosteus were ancient, armoured fish which inhabited the Earth over 350 million years ago, first discovered in 1873. They belong to the Placoderm family, which derives its meaning from "plate" in Greek (plax-) and "derm" in reference to skin. They were fish with articulated armour plates around their heads and thorax. The ocean used to be full of these types of fish and the Dunkleosteus were among the biggest. Well, some of them were. There are ten known species of Dunkleosteus, the largest being D.terrelli . This was the one tonne...