Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
520 / Paleozoic
Echinochimaera
Echinochimaera meltoni
A short snout, large eyes and pectoral structures belonged to an early chimaera relative.
View original image · 1600 × 1067- Time range
- About 318 million years ago
- Final stage
- Late Carboniferous
- Geographic range
- Warm lagoon and coast · North America
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Echinochimaera?
Echinochimaera (Echinochimaera meltoni) was an extinct organism known from About 318 million years ago, with a range in Warm lagoon and coast · North America.
Life and ecology
It cruised above the bottom and crushed small crustaceans and molluscs with tooth plates.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Echinochimaera disappear?
Late Paleozoic turnover among holocephalans is possible context; a specific cause for this species is not established.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Echinochimaera?
Bear Gulch fossils preserve cartilage outlines and pronounced sexual differences.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS