#dunkleosteus terrelli

[lazer-t]

Dunkleosteus terrelli for a $15 Ko-fi supporter

Prints

[raptorbricksart]

Deep in the ancient oceans, lurks the mighty Dunkleosteus. A bit of Blockbench paleo art from a little while back i never posted.

Based on the recent, more rotund, reconstruction of D. terrelli, still quite the fearsome beast!

Been some time since i did any paleoart so it was great to finally get back to it again!

Let me know what you think!

[ranchwamen]

I've been thinking about the dunk a lot recently and doodled out what I'd like a Dunkleosteus terrelli to look like in my fish poster. And, well.... I might just have to make the canvas bigger once more. D. terrelli absolutely dwarfs most fish here, which even fit snugly inside its body!!!!!!

Alright, here's dunky with only the four other biggest fish (feat. the terrestrial megafauna apex predator, and the banana). Keep in mind I'm using the most up to date, most reliable estimate of ~3.5 meters. And people dare claim that "short" dunk wouldn't be frightening!?!?!? Short my ass!!!!! I would NOT want to be within biting distance of those massive jaws.

[plasmacrowcodile]

Paleozoic Animals

Dunkleosteus Terrelli

[likeabitchylamb]

thinking about dunkle

[catboymccartney]

my first paleoart attempt, dunkleosteus terrelli!! 

[carnegiemuseumnaturalhistory]

Dunkleosteus terrelli plush

Pennsylvania and Ohio were once covered by the sea and dunkleosteus terrelli was one of the fiercest predators swimming in it. Dunkleosteus terrelli was a massive armored fish that could grow up to 33 feet long with a five-foot tall skull. It was a carnivore that crushed its prey between its jaws with force similar to that of a T. rex.

But the dunkleosteus terrelli plush is much smaller and sweeter. It is a replica of the head and trunk of the fish, a soft toy ready for cuddling or playing make believe.

This plush retails for $21 in our museum store.

[huxley-paleozoo]

BAD DUDE

Name: The Bad Dude

Species: Dunkleosteus terrelli

Description: Dunkleosteus is the largest placoderm and the largest Devonian fish, growing up to about 6 meters (20 feet). Like all placoderms, its head is protected by numerous bony plates, which mostly are the only parts that fossilize. The shearing “teeth” are extensions of these plates. Dunkleosteus was an apex predator - and it uses those shears to, well, shear prey. The edges sharpen themselves with each bite, and the bite force gets into the thousands of Newtons. Like several other fish, Dunkleosteus uses suction to get prey into the mouth so it can be sheared.

Location: The Bad Dude lives in a large tank of his own in the Devonian section of the Aquarium.

Fun Facts: We test his bite force over time, to see how it changes with growth. The last test, taken about a month ago, clocked in at 3,243 N!

About the Individual: This is our only Dunkleosteus. He’s approximately 3.4 meters (11 feet) long, a little over half his expected full size. Even at this size, he’s impressive to behold as he passes by the viewing window. He mostly keeps to himself and swims around - though he breaches sometimes, which is quite a sight to the staff on the top deck. We don’t know exactly why. The veterinary team is in the process of checking for parasites, but they don’t think that’s likely.

We feed him chum and meat chunks in edible packages that look like prey (without any significant hard chunks - nobody wants to volunteer to clean up Dunkleosteus vomit). He doesn’t seem to associate people with food and thus doesn’t try to attack the glass often - but just in case, the glass is extremely thick and built to withstand a heavy impact. Thanks to the armored head, he’s shrugged off every bump or nudge thus far.

Yes, he’s named after the Tumblr post. The aquarists didn’t really have a name for him until that post rolled around, they only called him “the Dunkleosteus”.