Macropoma
Name: Macropoma
(Big apple).
Phonetic: Mac-ro-poe-mah.
Named By: Louis Agassiz - 1835.
Classification: Chordata, Sarcopterygii,
Coelacanthiformes, Latimeridae.
Species: M. mantelli (type).
Diet: Carnivore/Piscivore.
Size: About 55 centimetres long.
Known locations: Brazil, Czech Republic/Slovakia,
England and Niger.
Time period: Late Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Many individuals.
Macropoma
is a specific genus of coelacanth.
For clarification, a coelacanth
is a word used to describe any fish that could be described as one of
the Coelacanthiformes, but does not denote a specific species or
genus.
Macropoma
is known to have lived during the late Cretaceous period,
specifically around the Cenomanian and Turonian stages, though the
full temporal range may well exceed this. Also, although Macropoma
is most often associated with Europe, specifically England and the
former state of Czechoslovakia (now split into the Czech Republic and
Slovakia), though fossil remains are also now known from Africa
(Niger) and South America (Brazil), indicating a cosmopolitan
distribution for the genus.
The
coelacanths are world famous as an example of creature that according
to science was long extinct for tens of millions of years, only to be
later found still alive and thriving in the deep waters of the Indian
Ocean. Coelacanths that are alive today are classified under the
Latimeria genus, and using these as a model it is
possible to infer
some living traits of the extinct Macropoma. If
similar then
Macropoma would have been deep water fish that spent
the day lurking in
caves and crevices, while emerging at night to hunt for other marine
organisms on the sea floor. At fifty-five centimetres long however,
Macropoma were quite a bit smaller than Latimera
which are known to
grow up to about one hundred and eighty centimetres long.
More information on the above fish can be found on their corresponding pages; Ceratodus, Chinlea, Dipnorhynchus, Dipterus, Eusthenopteron, Gooloogongia, Griphognathus, Gyroptychius, Holoptychius, Hyneria, Macropoma, Mandageria, Osteolepis, Panderichthys, Rhizodus, Strunius, Tiktaalik (upper estimate).
Further reading
- A coelacanth, Macropoma, from the Chalk of
Wiltshire - M. Waldman - 1965.
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