Dunkleosteus

Most placoderms were predators.

They varied in size from only a few inches to the huge apex predator Dunkleosteus, which must have been the terror of the Devonian Seas, up to 30 feet long with enormous jaws.

The Mount Eldon placoderm fossils weren't so large, only a few inches long.

Notwithstanding their small size, they're still considered among the most important vertebrate fossils in the museum's collection and a prized part of Major Brady's legacy.

For a start, the earliest known sharks evolved, though they were far from the top predators we know today.

In fact, they were completely overshadowed by a group of bony fish called placoderms, like this absolute beast, Dunkleosteus.

Old Dunkley was the apex predator of the day.

At its smallest estimate, it was a little shorter than a male great white shark, that's three times the size of an adult human.

Without a doubt, this was the biggest species alive at the time, and one of the most intimidating fish to have ever lived.

Its colossal head housed guillotine-like teeth, and experts reckon it had a stronger bite than a saltwater crocodile.

For context, saltwater crocs have the most powerful bite of any living creature, but Dunkleosteus had more than double that.

I mean, picture a jaw that could snap a saltwater croc in half like a breadstick.