Hyneria
Encyclopedia
Hyneria was a prehistoric
predatory lobe-finned fish that lived during the Devonian
period around 360 million years ago. It was approximately 4 meters in length and weighed as much as two tons. There is evidence from bones that it had very strong fins and perhaps could venture onto land.
In 2008, fossilized teeth, bones and a wall fin were found by Keith Thompson in the Red Hill Shale of Pennsylvania. Many specimens have been found since then, although a complete skeleton has yet to be discovered. Hyneria was just one of many species of lobe-finned fish of the family Tristichopteridae, common in the Late Devonian
period, along with its close relative Eusthenopteron
, whose well-known fossils are common and so have been intensively studied by scientists for decades.
's television series Walking With Monsters
. It featured a beached female Hyneria attempting to catch prey by sliding along the muddy ground like a walrus
to catch two Hynerpeton
(with the narrator explaining that it could "attack like a killer whale after a seal
"). This behavior is entirely speculative; the fish had powerful fleshy fins, like those of a coelacanth
, that could possibly have enabled it to move short distances on land. It is unknown whether Hyneria's fins were sufficient for this behavior.
Hyneria also have a significant amount of attention paid to them in the 5-part NHK Documentary Miracle Planet
.
Science fiction TV show Farscape
featured an amphibious alien race known as the Hynerians.
Prehistory
Prehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...
predatory lobe-finned fish that lived during the Devonian
Devonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
period around 360 million years ago. It was approximately 4 meters in length and weighed as much as two tons. There is evidence from bones that it had very strong fins and perhaps could venture onto land.
In 2008, fossilized teeth, bones and a wall fin were found by Keith Thompson in the Red Hill Shale of Pennsylvania. Many specimens have been found since then, although a complete skeleton has yet to be discovered. Hyneria was just one of many species of lobe-finned fish of the family Tristichopteridae, common in the Late Devonian
Devonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
period, along with its close relative Eusthenopteron
Eusthenopteron
Eusthenopteron is a genus of prehistoric lobe-finned fish which has attained an iconic status from its close relationships to tetrapods. Early depictions of this animal show it emerging onto land, however paleontologists now widely agree that it was a strictly aquatic animal...
, whose well-known fossils are common and so have been intensively studied by scientists for decades.
In popular culture
Hyneria was featured in the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's television series Walking With Monsters
Walking with Monsters
Walking with Monsters is a three-part British documentary film series about life in the Paleozoic, bringing to life extinct arthropods, fish, amphibians, synapsids, and reptiles...
. It featured a beached female Hyneria attempting to catch prey by sliding along the muddy ground like a walrus
Walrus
The walrus is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the Odobenidae family and Odobenus genus. It is subdivided into three subspecies: the Atlantic...
to catch two Hynerpeton
Hynerpeton
Hynerpeton was a basal carnivorous tetrapod that lived in the lakes and estuaries of the Late Devonian period around 360 million years ago. Like many primitive tetrapods, it is sometimes referred to as an "amphibian", though it is not a true member of the modern Lissamphibia...
(with the narrator explaining that it could "attack like a killer whale after a seal
Pinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
"). This behavior is entirely speculative; the fish had powerful fleshy fins, like those of a coelacanth
Coelacanth
Coelacanths are members of an order of fish that includes the oldest living lineage of Sarcopterygii known to date....
, that could possibly have enabled it to move short distances on land. It is unknown whether Hyneria's fins were sufficient for this behavior.
Hyneria also have a significant amount of attention paid to them in the 5-part NHK Documentary Miracle Planet
Miracle Planet
Miracle Planet is a six-part documentary series, co-produced by Japan's NHK and the National Film Board of Canada , narrated by Christopher Plummer , which tells the 4.6-billion-year-old story of how life has evolved from its humble beginnings to the diversity of living creatures today.Filmed...
.
Science fiction TV show Farscape
Farscape
Farscape is an Australian-American science fiction television series filmed in Australia and produced originally for the Nine Network. The series was conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon and produced by Jim Henson Productions and Hallmark Entertainment...
featured an amphibious alien race known as the Hynerians.
