Barameda mitchelli (Long 1989, Long and Ahlberg 1999; Late Devonian, 355mya; est length 6.1m; scale bars above are questionable).
According to Wikipedia,
"Barameda has an extremely elongated and thick body typical of Carboniferous rhizodonts, built for powerful swimming, and out-powering any prey larger than itself. It is covered with durable cosmoid scales all along its body, with thick bony plates covering its head and operculum (gill flaps), a tightly fused Skull roof, and extremely prominent, sharp fangs, devoid of serrations or cutting edges. It had an advanced lateral line system that was elaborated along its pectoral girdle, larger pectoral fins than pelvic fins, with deeply over-lapping scales along its fins, turning the pectoral fin into a large paddle. Its anal fins and secondary dorsal fins form a functional part of its tail."
Above, the Barameda skull in situ is reconstructed using DGS methods somewhat differently than originally reconstructed. |