Coccosteus
| Coccosteus | ||||||||||||
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Live reconstruction of Coccosteus decipiens |
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| Temporal occurrence | ||||||||||||
| Middle and Upper Devonian | ||||||||||||
| 390 to 360 million years | ||||||||||||
| Locations | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Coccosteus | ||||||||||||
| Agassiz , 1841 | ||||||||||||
Coccosteus is a genus of the extinct Placodermi ("Panzerfische") from the Devonian from about 390 to 360 million years ago. It reached about 40 centimeters in length and was widespread in what is now Europe and North America. Coccosteus lived predatory or scavenger on the sea floor. The animal had a streamlined, scaly body, paired fins on the trunk side, a strong caudal fin and even a stabilizing dorsal fin. All of this suggests that Coccosteus was a good swimmer.
He was probably also an active hunter because he had a joint system that enabled him to turn his head up to catch prey. In addition, its jaws were long enough so that it could devour larger prey.
species
- C. carbonarius
- C. decipiens
- C. disjectus
- C. hercynius
- C. macromus
- C. minor
Individual evidence
literature
- Douglas Palmer: Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Animals . Cologne 2000, ISBN 3-8290-6113-7