Sheffield Lake in Lorain County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Jay Terrell and his "Terrible Fish"

Photographed by Don Morfe, July 18, 2013

1. Jay Terrell and his "Terrible Fish" Marker

Inscription.
Around 1867, along the shale cliffs of the lakeshore of Sheffield Lake, Jay Terrell found fossils of a "terrible fish" later named in his honor as Dinichthys Terrelli. This animal, now known as Dunkleosteus terrelli, was a massive arthrodire (an extinct, joint-necked, armor-plated fish) that lived in the Devonian sea, which covered much of eastern North America some 354-364 million years ago. Dunkleosteus was armed with an incredible set of shearing jaws and was clearly the top marine predator in the Devonian Period (the "Age of Fishes").

Erected 2002 by Ohio Bicentennial Commission, The Longaberger Company, Sheffield Lake Park Board, The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 12-47.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Paleontology. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1867.

Location. 41° 29.717′ N, 82° 5.3′ W. Marker is in Sheffield Lake, Ohio, in Lorain County. It is on East Lake Road (U.S. 6) west of Irving Park Blvd, on the right when traveling west. The marker is located in Shell Cove Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Sheffield Lake OH 44054, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Cleveland,

on the Lake Erie Shore,

and in the Western Reserve.

It is also in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4

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miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: In memory of the Brookside Graduates Who Gave All in the Vietnam War (within shouting distance of this marker); 103rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry (approx. 1.1 miles away); ALVA #B Tug Shipwreck (approx. 1½ miles away); Significant Dates in Avon Lake History (approx. 1½ miles away); Peter J. Miller House / Adam Miller & Family (approx. 1.6 miles away); Beach Park Station (approx. 2.1 miles away); Burrell Homestead (approx. 2.9 miles away); Avon Lake World War II Veterans Memorial (approx. 3.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sheffield Lake.

Dunkleosteus terrelli image. Click for more information.

Photographed by Cleveland Museum of Natural History, unknown

2. Dunkleosteus terrelli

Fierce prehistoric predator:
Cleveland Museum of Natural History website entry
Click for more information.

Photographed by Don Morfe, July 18, 2013

3. Jay Terrell and his "Terrible Fish" Marker

Sign for Shell Cove Park, the location of the marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Don Morfe, July 18, 2013

4. Sign for Shell Cove Park, the location of the marker

Credits. This page was last revised on August 14, 2022. It was originally submitted on August 10, 2013, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 2,318 times since then and 83 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on August 10, 2013, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. 2. submitted on June 5, 2022, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. 3, 4. submitted on August 10, 2013, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. • Al Wolf was the editor who published this page.