AnimaliaNot EvaluatedacceptedspeciesAccepted
Megalocoelocanthus dobiei
Megalocoelacanthus·Schwimmer et al., 1994
GBIF:165523961
0year
PROFILE
Species Profile
Characteristics
Extant Late Cretaceous, 87-66 Ma
ABOUT
Descriptions(1)
Life restoration
Megalocoelacanthus dobiei is an extinct species of giant latimeriid coelacanth lobe-finned fish which lived during the Lower Campanian epoch until possibly the early Maastrichtian in the Late Cretaceous period in Appalachia, the Western Interior Seaway and Mississippi Embayment. Its disarticulated remains have been recovered from the Eutaw Formation, Mooreville Chalk Formation, and Blufftown Formation of Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia, and also from the Niobrara Formation of Kansas. Although no complete skeleton is known, careful examination of skeletal elements demonstrate it is closely related to the Jurassic-aged coelacanthid Libys. The species is named for herpetologist James L. Dobie. It has been estimated to have been 3.5—4.5 meters in length.The Triassic-Jurassic Terrestrial TransitionA giant marine coelacanth from the Jurassic of Normandy, FranceDutel H, Maisey JG, Schwimmer DR, Janvier P, Herbin M, Clément G (2012) The Giant Cretaceous Coelacanth (Actinistia, Sarcopterygii) Megalocoelacanthus dobiei Schwimmer, Stewart & Williams, 1994, and Its Bearing on Latimerioidei Interrelationships. PLoS ONE 7(11): e49911. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0049911
Megalocoelacanthus dobiei is an extinct species of giant latimeriid coelacanth lobe-finned fish which lived during the Lower Campanian epoch until possibly the early Maastrichtian in the Late Cretaceous period in Appalachia, the Western Interior Seaway and Mississippi Embayment. Its disarticulated remains have been recovered from the Eutaw Formation, Mooreville Chalk Formation, and Blufftown Formation of Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia, and also from the Niobrara Formation of Kansas. Although no complete skeleton is known, careful examination of skeletal elements demonstrate it is closely related to the Jurassic-aged coelacanthid Libys. The species is named for herpetologist James L. Dobie. It has been estimated to have been 3.5—4.5 meters in length.The Triassic-Jurassic Terrestrial TransitionA giant marine coelacanth from the Jurassic of Normandy, FranceDutel H, Maisey JG, Schwimmer DR, Janvier P, Herbin M, Clément G (2012) The Giant Cretaceous Coelacanth (Actinistia, Sarcopterygii) Megalocoelacanthus dobiei Schwimmer, Stewart & Williams, 1994, and Its Bearing on Latimerioidei Interrelationships. PLoS ONE 7(11): e49911. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0049911
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Common names used for this species across different languages and regions. 1 preferred.
Megalocoelacanthuseng★
Vernacular (common) names are the everyday names used for a species in different languages and regions. A single species may have dozens of common names worldwide. 1 name preferred.
Megalocoelacanthus
eng★ preferred
CLASSIFICATION
Taxonomic Classification Tree
AnimaliaChordataSarcopterygiiCoelacanthiformesLatimeriidaeMegalocoelacanthusMegalocoelocanthus dobiei
IMAGES