Name: Cobelodus
Phonetic: Co-be-lo-dus.
Named By: Zangerl - 1973.
Classification: Chordata, Chondrichthyes,
Elasmobranchii, Symmoriida, Symmoriidae.
Species: C. obliquus.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Up to 2 meters long.
Known locations: USA, Illinois, Iowa.
Time period: Late Carboniferous.
Fossil representation: Many specimens.
With
a bulbous head, strongly arched back and dorsal fin that was so far
back it sat near above the pelvic fins, Cobelodus
was not a shark
that was built for speed. Instead it may have cruised around near the
bottom hunting for crustaceans and other invertebrates that did not
require active pursuit.
The
pectoral fins are two thirty centimetre appendages that trail from the
pectoral fins. These appear to have been made out of cartilage and
were flexible enough to be moved. Whether these appendages were for
signalling and display, or even 'feeling' for prey items, we
just don't know.
Further reading
- Chondrichthyes I: Paleozoic Elasmobranchii, by R. Zangerl - In,
Handbook of Paleoichthyology, H. P. Schultze [ed]. - 1981.
- Early Permian chondrichthyans of the middle and south Urals. -
Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia 8(2):127-138. - A. Ivanov - 2005.