Daily Dose of Prehistory Revival 2: Hyneria lindae

Hyneria lindae, named after Hyner, Pennsylvania and its discoverer Keith Stewart Thomson's wife Linda, was a species of large lobe-finned fish that lived in what is now North America during the Devonian period about 360 million years ago. It was quite large for the time, measuring up to 12 feet long and weighing over half a ton. With a heavily built, snake-like skull it used its stout 2-inch long teeth to hunt large fish and amphibians of the time. They had large lateral lines which allowed them to hunt in murky water. Hyneria was likely primarily a freshwater fish where it didn't have to compete with the massive placoderm Dunkleosteus or its great white shark-sized competitor Rhizodus (both of which could also hunt Hyneria).