CMNH 5858, Dunkleosteus terrelli infragnathal

3D Model

CMNH 5858, Dunkleosteus terrelli (Newberry, 1873) left anterior infragnathal

Age: Late Devonian (Famennian) Rock unit: Chagrin Shale Member, Ohio Formation

Locality: Cuyahoga Co., OH

Collectors: Peter A. Bungart & F. G. Shepherd Date Collected: 02 Jul, 1929

358 million years ago, a shallow sea teeming with marine life covered Northeast Ohio. Dunkleosteus had a massive skull made of thick, bony plates, and 2 sets of fang-like protrusions near the front of powerful, self-sharpening jawbones. The Museum has some of the world’s best-preserved Dunkleosteus terrelli fossils. It is named for former Museum Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology Dr. David Dunkle and Jay Terrell, who discovered the first fossils of the “terrible fish” in 1867.

On November 18, 2020, the Ohio General Assembly passed a bill declaring Dunkleosteus terrelli the state fossil fish.

Scanned as part of the Kirtlandia Research Internship Program, Summer 2022.

Scanner: Artec Spider

Image by Kevin Dang, CMNH