A new study has shown that about 350 million years ago, long before the advent of dinosaurs, a giant fish
The length of the individual was 2.7 m, this is the mostlarge bony fish in the history of the Late Devonian (from 383 to 359 million years ago). Because of its predatory nature, the individual was named Hyneria udlezinye. The approximate translation from isiXhosa is “eats others.” The language is widely spoken among the indigenous peoples of South Africa, where the remains were found.
The huge fish looked like a modern fishan alligator, but with a shorter snout, “like the front of a torpedo.” In her mouth she had rows of small teeth, as well as pairs of large fangs. Their length reached 5 cm in the largest individuals.
Drawing of H. udlezinye based on research by Rob Hess. Author: Maggie Newman
The first signs of the existence of ancient fishdiscovered back in 1995. Then scientists found a series of isolated fossilized scales at an excavation site called Waterloo Farm near Makhanda in South Africa. Now, researchers have finally pieced together the skeleton of the newly discovered species. Analysis of the remains showed that H. udlezinye was a "voracious predator". As scientists explain, the location of the fins indicates that the fish was waiting for the prey, and then made a sharp, sudden jerk.
The giant fish was probably huntingon four-legged creatures - the first ancestors of people. “Trichopterids evolved into monsters that likely ate our ancestors,” said Per Ahlberg, professor in the department of organismal biology at Uppsala University in Sweden and co-author of the study.
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On the cover: an artistic interpretation of sea life, including the giant fish Hyneria udlezinye
Image credit: Hess, Ahlberg, 2023, PLOS One, (CC-BY 4.0)