Titanichthys
Name:
Titanichthys
(Titan fish).
Phonetic: Tie-tan-ick-fiss.
Named By: John Strong Newberry - 1885.
Synonyms: Brontichthys.
Classification: Chordata, Placodermi,
Arthrodira, Brachythoraci, Coccosteina, Dinichthyloidea,
Titanichthyidae.
Species: T. agassizi (type).
Diet: Carnivore/Possibly a filter feeder.
Size: Easily up to 8 meters long, possible larger up
to 10 meters long. Size depends upon species.
Known locations: Worldwide.
Time period: Famennian of the Devonian.
Fossil representation: Initially many remains but
usually of a fragmentary nature, a more complete and articulated
specimen has since been discovered.
While Titanichthys appears to have been as large as the fearsome Dunkleosteus, it does not seem to have had the same apex predator lifestyle. Whereas Dunkleosteus had jaws that where incredibly sharp for biting through the armour of other bony placoderms, the jaws of Titanichthys were actually very blunt in comparison. A possible scenario is that Titanichthys used its huge mouth to swallow up large numbers of small shoaling fish that were together, or perhaps even to filter for krill like invertebrates. If true then this would make Titanichthys one of the earliest known filter-feeding fish.
Further reading
- Placodermi, by R. Denison. - In. Handbook of Palaeoichthyology
2:1-128. - H.-P. Schultze - (ed.).
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