Fun Facts!
The following facts are from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History:
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Dunkleosteus terrelli was thought to be one of the biggest organism alive during the Devonian period, so no other fish stood a chance against it.
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Devonian period is also refered to as "The Age of Fishes".
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D. terrelli's intense bite would scare even the most dangerous of our oceans preditors today. This is becasue it was thought to be able to bite a shark in half.
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D. terrelli had no teeth, instead it had a bladed jaw.
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To study the magnificent bite force of D. terrelli scientists have used biomechanical models and fossilized skulls of the D. terelli.
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The first discovery of the D. terrelli was near the shore of Sheffields Lake in 1867 by a nonprefessional fossil hunter.
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The genus name is named after Dr. David Dunkle for his time and dedication to research on Dunkleosteus terrelli. Osteus means bones which translates Dunkleosteus to "Dunkle's Bones".
The following facts are from the Encyclopedia of Life:
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The body shape of the D. terrelli is an educated prediction of what it might have looked like. Only fossils of the D. terrelli's skull have actually been found.
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The D. terrelli was able to centralize 8,000 pounds per square inch of pressure within its jaw which is very similar to the T. rex.
We were very fortunate to have this interesting organism chosen for us by our lab professor, Eric Snively.
Click here to see what it would be like if Dunkleosteus terrelli still roamed the seas today. Please consider that this is a fictional video and should not be taken seriously.