Dunkleosteus Size Greatly Exaggerated: Study

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• A new study has revealed that the size of the prehistoric fish Dunkleosteus terrelli may have been greatly exaggerated.
• It was believed to be up to 30 feet long, but is likely only 11 to 13 feet long.
• It lived in the shallow subtropical waters above what is now Cleveland during the Devonian Period.
• It has become Cleveland’s mascot when it comes to paleontology and was declared the state fossil fish of Ohio in 2020.
• The study suggests that Dunkleosteus was much chunkier than previously thought.

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Exaggerated Size of Dunkleosteus Terrelli

A new study has revealed that the size of the prehistoric fish Dunkleosteus terrelli may have been greatly exaggerated.

The armor-plated fish, which lived approximately 360 million years ago during the Age of Fishes (Devonian Period), was believed to be up to 30 feet long and the first vertebrate “superpredator.”

However, according to scientist Russell Engelman, Dunkleosteus was likely much shorter and chunkier than previously thought.

Engelman concluded that the species was only 11 to 13 feet long—much shorter than any researcher had proposed before.

Dunkleosteus in the Devonian Period

Dunkleosteus lived in the shallow subtropical waters above what is now Cleveland when North America was near the latitude of Rio de Janeiro.

It has become Cleveland’s mascot when it comes to paleontology and was declared the state fossil fish of Ohio in 2020.

Most research on Dunkleosteus is based on specimens in the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, which has the largest and highest quality collection of Dunkleosteus remains in the world.

However, most estimates of the species’ length weren’t based on hard evidence.

Engelman’s new size estimates also help put Dunkleosteus in a broader scientific context.

It had a body shape like a tuna and a mouth twice as large as a great white shark.

New Information on Dunkleosteus

The study, which was published in the journal Palaeontology, suggests that Dunkleosteus was much chunkier than previously thought.

This new information could help researchers better understand the evolution of the species and its place in the Devonian Period.