Dunkleosteus

Dunkleosteus was a prehistoric arthrodire. It was a primitive fish from the later Devonian period, about 360 million years ago. It was a heavily armoured placoderm. Fossils have been found in Morocco, Africa, Poland, Belgium, China, and the USA.

Dunkleosteus Temporal range:
Dunkleosteus skull, Queensland Museum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	†Placodermi
Order:	†Arthrodira
Family:	†Dinichthyidae
Genus:	†Dunkleosteus Lehman, 1956

Dunkleosteus first appeared in the Late Silurian, and the group became extinct during the transition from the Late Devonian to the Late Carboniferous, leaving no descendants. It lasted barely 50 million years compared to the 400 million year-long history of sharks. It preyed on Stethacanthus and Cladoselache.

Description

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 over 2 feet (65 cm) long. It had a jointed neck, an eel-like tail, a scale-less body, and hinged body shields.