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MACROPOMA
(mac-ro-poe-mah)
meaning: "Big apple"
Macropoma
Named By: Louis Agassiz in 1835
Time Period: Late Cretaceous, 70 Ma
Location: Brazil, Czech Republic/Slovakia, England and Niger
Size: About 55 centimetres long
Diet: Carnivore/Piscivore
Fossil(s): Many individuals
Classification: | Chordata | Sarcopterygii | Coelacanthiformes | Latimeridae |
About

Macropoma (from Greek makros "large" + poma "cover", after its large operculum) is an extinct genus of coelacanth in the class Sarcopterygii. These fishes have apparently been extinct for over 70 million years and are most closely related to the modern coelacanth Latimeria.

Fossils of Macropoma have been found in both England and Czechoslovakia. Recorded fossils have bodies under two feet in length. A modern coelacanth measures five or more, but in other respects the two genera are remarkably similar, and share the same body plan with a three-lobed tail and stalked fins.

Macropoma grew to a length of 22 inches (55 centimeters) and would have preyed upon smaller aquatic species.

Read more about Macropoma at Wikipedia
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