Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
557 / Paleozoic
Onychodus
Onychodus jandemarrai
A pair of curved lower-jaw tusks and a kinetic skull helped this lobe-finned fish restrain prey.
View original image · 1600 × 1067- Time range
- About 383–372 million years ago
- Final stage
- Late Devonian
- Geographic range
- Tropical reef lagoon and shallow sea · Australia
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Onychodus?
Onychodus (Onychodus jandemarrai) was an extinct organism known from About 383–372 million years ago, with a range in Tropical reef lagoon and shallow sea · Australia.
Life and ecology
It ambushed smaller fish around reefs using a wide gape and anterior fangs.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Onychodus disappear?
Late Devonian reef collapse and fish turnover are the likely setting in which the lineage disappeared; a specific cause is not established.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Onychodus?
Three-dimensional skulls, teeth and skeletons from Western Australia reveal jaw mechanics; soft tissues follow relatives.
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