New Species of Ancient Bottom Dwelling Predatory Fish Discovered
Posted on September 12, 2011
The Academy of Natural Sciences has announced the discovery of a new species of large predatory fish that prowled ancient North American waterways during the Devonian Period (417 to 354 million years ago). Laccognathus embryi is a lobe-finned fish whose closest living relative is the lungfish. The researchers say the creature probably grew to about 5 or 6 feet long and had a wide head with small eyes and robust jaws lined with large piercing teeth.
The fossil remains of the 375-million-year-old beast were found on Ellesmere Island in the remote Nunavut Territory of Arctic Canada. Drs. Edward "Ted" Daeschler and Jason Downs of the Academy and colleagues from the University of Chicago and Harvard University reported on the finding in the current issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
Daeschler, co-author of the paper and the Academy's curator of vertebrate zoology, said, "I wouldn't want to be wading or swimming in waters where this animal lurked. Clearly these Late Devonian ecosystems were vicious places, and Laccognathus filled the niche of a large, bottom-dwelling, sit-and-wait predator with a powerful bite."