Dunkleosteus: The First Monster

The Dunkleosteus had no teeth. What it had were bone blades — self-sharpening razor edges made from the same material as its skull — and a jaw that opened in one fiftieth of a second. It lived 380 million years ago. Before the dinosaurs. Before mammals. Before almost everything. And for 24 million years, it was the apex predator of a global ocean. In this video: the real size, how the bone blades worked and why they self-sharpened, how the jaw opened in 20 milliseconds and created suction that pulled prey in before the prey could react, the 8,000-pound bite force, how it hunted, what it ate — including sharks and other Dunkleosteus — and why its entire lineage disappeared 358 million years ago leaving no descendants. The first apex predator of the vertebrate ocean. 380 million years before you. Subscribe and hit the bell — new video every week. #Dunkleosteus #PrehistoricFish #Paleontology #PrehistoricAnimals #NatureDocumentary