Macropoma

Macropoma
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 70 Ma
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Life restoration of Macropoma
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Sarcopterygii
Order: Coelacanthiformes
Family: Latimeridae
Genus: Macropoma
Agassiz, 1835

Macropoma (from Greek μακρός "large" + πόμα "cover", after its large operculum) is an extinct genus of coelacanth in the class Sarcopterygii. These fishes have apparently been extinct for over 70 million years and are most closely related to the modern coelacanth Latimeria.

Fossils of Macropoma have been found in both England and Czechoslovakia. Recorded fossils have bodies under two feet in length. A modern coelacanth measures five or more, but in other respects the two genera are remarkably similar, and share the same body plan with a three-lobed tail and stalked fins.[1]

Macropoma grew to a length of 22 inches (55 centimeters) and would have preyed upon smaller aquatic species.

References

  1. ↑ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 44. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
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