John Newberry and his Dunkleosteos

PART 24 John Newberry and his Dunkleosteos

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John Strong Newberry was born in 1822 in Connecticut. He was interested in Paleobotany from a very young age and would collect fossils from coal mines. In the 1850s he was part of several expeditions to explore the country of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona. On these expeditions he became the first Geologist to study the Grand Canyon. During the American Civil War he was tasked with overlooking field hospitals since he was also a physician. And finally at in 1866 he became a professor for Geology and Paleontology at the Columbia University, as well as the President of the AAAS in 1867.

His paleontological work focused on Paleozoic fish and Paleobotany. Amongst his discoveries was a giant Devonian Placoderm which he classified as Dinichthys. It could grow ut to 10 m (33ft) in length and the first third of its body was heavily armored. Lacking teeth it instead sports sharp bony plates protruding from its jaw. In 1956 it was re-classified and given the name “Dunkleosteos”.