Megalocoelacanthus dobiei Schwimmer, Stewart and Williams, 1994

Remarks

• Collection:   Alabama Museum of Natural History (photos provided by David Lueth)

• Formation:  Mooreville Chalk

• Location:     Dallas County, AL

• M. dobiei was estimated by Schwimmer, Stewart, and Williams to be ~3.5 m in length (>11 feet !!), comparable in size to its extant relative.

• Now that's a big fish!

General Info

Stratigraphic Occurrence

• Blufftown Formation of Alabama and Georgia
• Mooreville Chalk of Alabama
• Eutaw Formation, Tombigbee Sand Member of Alabama
• From float in New Jersey (several possible formations, including Marshalltown, Wenonah, Mount Laurel, and/or Navesink)

Age

• Megalocoelacanthus dobiei Schwimmer, Stewart and Williams ranges (with certainty) from about the Boehmoceras arculus (Morton) zone to the Scaphites (Scaphites) hippocrepis form III zone, late Middle Santonian Stage to late Early Campanian Stage (~84–80 mya).  Depending on the ultimate origin of the New Jersey material (see Schwimmer, Stewart, and Williams, 1994 below), the range may extend into the early Maastrichtian.

Geographic Occurrence (not an all-inclusive list)

• Barbour County, AL
• Dallas County, AL
• Monmouth County, NJ
• Montgomery County, AL
• Russell County, AL
• Stewart County, GA

Remarks

         For identification and descriptions, see:

• Schwimmer, D. R.; Stewart, J. D.; Williams, G. D.  1994.  Giant Fossil Coelacanths of the Late Cretaceous in the Eastern United States.  Geology 22, 503–506.