Edenopteron facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Edenopteron Temporal range: Late Devonian -Famennian PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Reconstruction of Edenopteron keithcrooki
Scientific classification

A model of Edenopteron being built.

Edenopteron was a type of very large ancient fish. It lived a long, long time ago, during the Late Devonian period. This was about 360 million years ago!

This giant fish swam in the waters of what is now southeastern Australia. Scientists only know about Edenopteron from one single fossil. This fossil belongs to one species, called E. keithcrooki. Scientists officially described this amazing fish in 2013.

Discovering the Giant Fish

Drawings of Edenopteron skulls (A, B, C) compared to other similar fish.

The fossil of Edenopteron keithcrooki was found in 2008. It was dug up from rocks near the town of Eden. This town is on the coast of New South Wales in Australia.

The name Edenopteron comes from the town of Eden. The second part, pteron, means "wing" or "fin" in Greek. The full species name, keithcrooki, honors Dr. Keith Crook. He is a scientist from the Australian National University. Dr. Crook helped find many fossil sites in New South Wales. He also played a key role in mapping the geology around Eden.

What Edenopteron Looked Like

Scientists found many parts of the Edenopteron fossil. These included pieces of its skull, snout, and jaws. They also found parts of its shoulder and some scales.

From these pieces, scientists could guess its size.

• Its skull was about 30 centimeters (12 inches) long.
• Its lower jaw was even longer, about 48 centimeters (19 inches).

Edenopteron had some interesting features:

• Its eye sockets (called orbits) were somewhat triangular, not oval.
• It had large fangs on its lower jaw.
• It also had tusks on its upper jaw. These sharp teeth helped it catch prey.

Scientists believe Edenopteron was a very large fish. By comparing it to other similar ancient fish, they estimate its body length. It was likely between 2.9 and 3.2 meters (9.5 to 10.5 feet) long! That's as long as a small car!

Scientists hope to find more fossils of Edenopteron. The lead researcher, Gavin Young, said that part of its shoulder bone is still in the rock. If they can lift more rock blocks, they might find even more of its body preserved.

How Scientists Classify Edenopteron

Scientists place Edenopteron into a group of fish called tristichopterids. Specifically, it belongs to a subgroup called Mandageriinae. This group includes other ancient fish like Cabonnichthys and Mandageria.

Edenopteron shares several features with these fish:

• It had paired bones in its palate (the roof of its mouth).
• Bones under its jaw overlapped its lower jaw edge.
• Its scales had widely-spaced grooves on them.

These shared features help scientists understand how Edenopteron is related to other ancient fish.