Megalocoelacanthus

Megalocoelacanthus; Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 87–66 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
	Megalocoelacanthus dobiei mounted skull in the Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center in Woodland Park, Colorado
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinistia
Order:	Coelacanthiformes
Suborder:	Latimerioidei
Family:	Latimeriidae
Genus:	†Megalocoelacanthus; Schwimmer et al., 1994
Species:	†M. dobiei
Binomial name
	†Megalocoelacanthus dobiei; Schwimmer et al., 1994

Megalocoelacanthus dobiei is an extinct species of giant latimeriid coelacanth lobe-finned fish which lived during the Lower Campanian epoch until possibly the early Maastrichtian in the Late Cretaceous period in Appalachia, the Western Interior Seaway and Mississippi Embayment. Its disarticulated remains have been recovered from the Eutaw Formation, Mooreville Chalk Formation, and Blufftown Formation of Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia, and also from the Niobrara Formation of Kansas. Although no complete skeleton is known, careful examination of skeletal elements demonstrate it is closely related to the Jurassic-aged coelacanthid Libys. The species is named for herpetologist James L. Dobie. It has been estimated to have been 3.5–4.5 metres (11–15 ft) in length.^[3]^[4]^[5]

References

^ Megalocoelacanthus in the Paleobiology Database
^ Schwimmer, David R.; Stewart, J. D.; Williams, G. Dent (1994-06-01). "Giant fossil coelacanths of the Late Cretaceous in the eastern United States". Geology. 22 (6): 503–506. Bibcode:1994Geo....22..503S. doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1994)022<0503:GFCOTL>2.3.CO;2. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
^ Jerry D. Harris, Spencer G. Lucas, Justin A. Speilmann, Martin G. Lockley, Andrew R.C. Milner, James I. Kirkland (2006). "The Triassic-Jurassic Terrestrial Transition". New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science Bulletin. 37: 518. ISSN 1524-4156.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Dutel, Hugo; Pennetier, Elisabeth; Pennetier, Gérard (2014-07-29). "A giant marine coelacanth from the Jurassic of Normandy, France". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 34 (5): 1239–1242. Bibcode:2014JVPal..34.1239D. doi:10.1080/02724634.2014.838176. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 130632357.
^ Dutel, H.; Maisey, J.P.; Schwimmer, D.R.; Janvier, P.; Herbin, M.; Clément, G. (2012). "The Giant Cretaceous Coelacanth (Actinistia, Sarcopterygii) Megalocoelacanthus dobiei Schwimmer, Stewart & Williams, 1994, and Its Bearing on Latimerioidei Interrelationships". PLOS ONE. 7 (11) e49911. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...749911D. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0049911. PMC 3507921. PMID 23209614.

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