5 Interesting Prehistoric Fish

We look upon the world today and in particular the ocean and we think to ourselves "what an amazing world we live in". Diving in the waters with the majestic sharks and examining small, brightly coloured macro creatures as well as enjoying the company of the beautiful and playful dolphin, these are all amazing experiences. There are thousands of marine species and each of them hold something special, and many of them provide visual displays which far surpass those of its land roaming counterparts.

If you think the underwater world these days provides something spectacular and 'of another world' you may want to take a look back millions of years and see what the oceans were inhabited by back then. It was a far scarier place back then, when a great white shark may well have been low down on the risk scale and whales, not the largest creatures in the seas. We’ll be looking at 5 creepy and unbelievable prehistoric fish- when they existed, what they looked like and what they ate.

Megalodon

Let us start off with a bang! The Megalodon is my personal favourite and by far the most epic of the prehistoric fish. It's safe to say that if these creatures lived today, there would be extreme problems in boat fishing as they could swallow most small boats without even realizing they had, this apex predator is worthy of being named the grail of prehistoric fish. Time Period: The Megalodon is estimated to have been in existence between 1.5 and 25 million years ago.

Size: A subject which has been debated for over a century, the exact size of the Megalodon is unknown. Size estimates on this prehistoric fish have in general been between 15 and 25 meters though. The latest fossil evidence suggests that the Megalodon would have been around 20 meters in size, dwarfing the great white shark and easily capable of eating some of the largest of today’s marine creatures. The estimates in size are mainly deducted from Megalodon teeth which measure over 18cm.

Physical Appearance: The physical appearance of the Megalodon is somewhat of a mystery due to the lack of preserved skeletal fossils. The basic physical appearance of a Great White Shark is generally used and adapted as to predict what a Megalodon could possibly have looked like. There are a few characteristics on this prehistoric fish that would differ from the Great White. Firstly the fins would have had to have been proportionally bigger due to the general size of the Megalodon. Secondly, the head of the shark would have been more square and 'bulky' due to the large size of the Megalodon's jaws.

Diet: The diet of the Megalodon, based on fossil findings would seem to consist of large marine life such as whales, dolphins and giant sea turtles. Despite the Megalodons size, it is believed that it was a fast swimmer.

Dunkleosteus

Another interesting prehistoric fish is the Dunkleosteus, which is known for its unique jaw structure and specifically for its heavily armoured body. It was a hypercarnivorous apex predator.

Time Period: Between 360 and 380 million years ago.

Size: The Dunkleosteus is estimated to have reached up to 10 meters in length.

Physical Appearance: As mentioned above, the most defining characteristics of this prehistoric fish is probably the armour plating around its head. Apart from that the jaw is different from most fish as the Dunkleosteus did not have teeth, but rather had 2 sets of gnathal plates, essentially forming a kind of beak, somewhat like that of sea turtles. It is also believed that the only prehistoric marine creature with a stronger bite was the Megalodon. Reconstructions of the Dunkleosteus give an appearance of a fish with what appears to look like a 'detached' jaw and head, due to the armour plating the creature had.

Diet: It is believed that the Dunkleosteus' diet consisted of 70% meat and would likely have fed on numerous soft-bodied marine creatures.

Haikouichthys

This definitely isn't an exciting looking prehistoric fish like the ones above, but it is probably the most important in history. This little guy is believed to be among the first fish to exist.

Time Period: The Haikouichthys is believed to have existed over 500 million years ago.

Size: A huge contrast the prehistoric fish listed above, the Haikouichthys was only around 2.5 cm long.

Physical Appearance: A small fish with some characteristics which separate it from most other fish. The Haikouichthys has between 6 and 9 gills which are located near the head, there are no distinct pelvic, pectoral or anal fins, and instead has one thin fin that extends from near its head down around the back and to the underside of the fish.

Coelacanth

You may recognize this fish from our previous article '8 Rarest Fish in the Oceans', the Coelacanth is indeed both prehistoric and rare. While this creature is the oldest species of gnathostomata, it still can be found today. A rare case of a prehistoric fish standing the tests of time.

Time Period: Over 300 million years ago and still in existence, though very rare.

Size: Nearly 2 meters.

Physical Appearance: The appearance of the Coelacanth is quite unique, especially due to the trilobate caudal fin which is separated by another smaller tail and the muscular lobes which are present on the pelvic, anal and pectoral fins. This fish still looks prehistoric even millions of years later.

Tiktaalik

The last of our prehistoric fish will be the Tiktaalik. This fascinating genus was one of the fish that lead to the evolution of amphibians. It was part of a vital series of creatures which lead to the migration of some marine animals onto land. The Tiktaalik was able to come to the sea shores and climb onto the sands or shallows with their fins. They also had well developed jaws.

Time Period: 360 - 400 million years ago.

Size: Around 3 meters.

Physical Appearance: These prehistoric fish looked like a cross between a crocodile and a game fish. They had fairly long bodies, similar to that of a crocodile, though their tales had a fin and instead of having legs, where a crocodiles legs are, the Tiktaalik had small, strong fins. The fins of the Tiktaalik were not the same as traditional fish fins and instead had basic wrist and finger bone structures, there were capable of allowing the Tiktaalik to head onto beaches. There is also evidence that this creature was already passed the evolutionary step of gills and had both gills and lungs.