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Dunkleosteus

File:Dunkleosteus_terrelli_(fossil_fish)_(Cleveland_Shale_Member,_Ohio_Shale,_Upper_Devonian;_Rocky_River_Valley,_Cleveland,_Ohio,_USA)_21_(34001200911).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Dunkleosteus

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Also known as Dunk (informal)

Dunkleosteus is an extinct genus of large arthrodire ("jointed-neck") fish that existed during the Late Devonian period, about 382–358 million years ago. It was a pelagic fish inhabiting open waters, and one of the first vertebrate apex predators of any ecosystem. Fossils of Dunkleosteus have been found in the United States, Canada, Poland, Belgium, and Morocco.

Wikidata facts

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Dunkleosteus spp.jpg
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start time
382000000-
end time
358000000-
taxon name
Dunkleosteus
Commons category
Dunkleosteus
Commons gallery
Dunkleosteus
taxon common name
鄧氏魚
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~25 min read

Article

14 sections
Contents
  • Discovery
  • Taxonomy
  • Species
  • Description
  • Size and anatomy
  • Length estimations of ''D. terrelli''
  • Paleobiology
  • Diet
  • Reproduction
  • Growth
  • See also
  • References
  • Further reading
  • External links

Dunkleosteus is an extinct genus of large arthrodire ("jointed-neck") fish that existed during the Late Devonian period, about 382–358 million years ago. It was a pelagic fish inhabiting open waters, and one of the first vertebrate apex predators of any ecosystem. Fossils of Dunkleosteus have been found in the United States, Canada, Poland, Belgium, and Morocco.

Dunkleosteus consists of ten species, some of which are among the largest placoderms ("plate-skinned") to have ever lived: D. terrelli, D. belgicus, D. denisoni, D. marsaisi, D. magnificus, D. missouriensis, D. newberryi, D. amblyodoratus, D. raveri, and D. tuderensis. However, the validity of several of these species is unclear. The largest and best known species is D. terrelli, the type species.

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