| Dunkleosteoidea | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dunkleosteus terrelli skull,Queensland Museum | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | †Placodermi |
| Order: | †Arthrodira |
| Suborder: | †Brachythoraci |
| Clade: | †Eubrachythoraci |
| Clade: | †Pachyosteomorphi |
| Superfamily: | †Dunkleosteoidea Vezina, 1990 |
| Containedtaxa | |
Dunkleosteoidea is anextinctsuperfamily ofarthrodireplacoderms that lived during theDevonian period. The giganticapex predatorDunkleosteus terrelli is the best known member of this group.
Eubrachythoraci is divided into thecladesCoccosteomorphi andPachyosteomorphi, the latter of which can be further sub-divided intoAspinothoracidi andDunkleosteoidea. Dunkleosteoidea was then considered to consist of the twosisterfamiliesDunkleosteidae andPanxiosteidae.[1][2]
However, the 2016 Zhuet al.phylogenetic study using a largermorphological dataset recoveredPanxiosteidae well outside of Dunkleosteoidea, leaving the status ofDunkleosteidae as a clade grouping separate from Dunkleosteoidea in doubt, as shown in the cladogram below:[3]
| Eubrachythoraci | |
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