Quick Take
- Cleveland’s famous sea monster, Dunkleosteus terrelli, was recently discovered to have a more typical jaw size than originally thought.
- It was also found to be of a more normal size compared to other similar fishes of the time.
- Its jaw went through a similar evolutionary process to that of mammals, including humans.
For generations, Dunkleosteus terrelli, also known as Ohio’s state fossil fish, has been a familiar figure for those in the Cleveland area, regarded as one of prehistory’s great sea monsters. This 14-foot armored fish sliced through ancient seas with bone blades instead of teeth. School children and museum visitors in the Cleveland area stare at its skull in awe. Artists paint it as a deep-sea terror built unlike any creature before or since.
But what if the real Dunkleosteus wasn’t actually the impossibly strange creature Cleveland has known for 150 years? What if it was…surprisingly normal?
That’s the story emerging from new research led by Dr. Russell Engelman of Case Western Reserve University. Engelman and his team peeled back 360 million years of mystery to analyze Dunkleosteus as never before, and the findings recast this Devonian superstar in unexpected and fascinating ways…