Meet the Dunkleosteus

The Dunkleosteus was a very large armored fish that lived in the late denovian period, about 380-360 million years ago. At 33 feet long and weighing in at a whopping 4 tons, this killer beast was at the top of its food chain.

Their diet consisted of whatever they could get their jaws on, fish, sharks and even their own kind as they had a cannibalistic nature.

Instead of teeth, they were equipped with two long, bony blades that could slice through almost anything including flesh and bones with a concentrated force of up to 8,000 lbs. per square inch.

This places them in the league of the Tyrannosaurus Rex and modern crocodiles as having the most powerful known bite. They were also able to open their mouth in one-fiftieth of a second causing a powerful suction making it all the more easier to catch their prey.

Due to its extreme diet, fossil records indicate it may have routinely regurgitated prey bones rather than digest them.

The Dunkleosteus fossils have been found in North America, Poland, Belgium and Morocco and displays can be seen at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, American Museum of Natural History and in the Queensland Museum in Brisbane, Queensland.

Meet the Dunkleosteus