The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period 358.9 million years ago (mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, 298.9 mya. In North America, the Carboniferous is often treated as two separate geological periods, the earlier Mississippian and the later Pennsylvanian.
Chimaeras are cartilaginous fish in the order Chimaeriformes, known informally as ghost sharks, rat fish, spookfish, or rabbit fish; the last three names are not to be confused with rattails, Opisthoproctidae, or Siganidae, respectively.
Orthacanthus is an extinct genus of fresh-water xenacanthiform elasmobranch, named by Louis Agassiz in 1836, ranging from the Upper Carboniferous into the Lower Permian. Orthacanthus had a nektobenthic life habitat, with a carnivorous diet. Multiple authors have also discovered evidence of cannibalism in the diet of Orthacanthus and of "filial cannibalism" where adult Orthacanthus preyed upon juvenile Orthacanthus. Synonyms of the genus Orthacanthus are Dittodus, Didymodus, and Diplodus.
Acanthodes is an extinct genus of acanthodian fish. Species have been found in Europe, North America, and Asia, spanning the Early Carboniferous to the Early Permian, making it one of the youngest known acanthodian genera.
Symmoriiformes is an extinct order of stem-group holocephalians. Originally named Symmoriida by Zangerl (1981), it has subsequently been known by several other names. Lund (1986) synonymized the group with Cladodontida, while Maisey (2008) corrected the name to Symmoriiformes in order to prevent it from being mistaken for a family. The symmoriiform fossils record begins during the late Devonian. Most of them died out at the start of the Permian, but Dwykaselachus is known from the Artinskian-Kungurian of South Africa. Teeth described from the Valanginian of France and Austria indicate that members of the family Falcatidae might have survived until the Early Cretaceous; however, these teeth were also argued to be more likely neoselachian teeth.
Ptychodus is a genus of extinct durophagous (shell-crushing) sharks from the Late Cretaceous. Fossils of Ptychodus teeth are found in many Late Cretaceous marine sediments. There are many species among the Ptychodus that have been uncovered on all the continents around the globe. Such species are Ptychodus mortoni, P. decurrens, P. marginalis, P. mammillaris, P. rugosus and P. latissimus to name a few. They died out approximately 85 million years ago. A large number of remains have been found in the former Western Interior Seaway. A 2016 publication found that Ptychodus are likely true sharks belonging to Selachimorpha, rather than hybodonts or batoids as previously thought. Their life history coincides with the typical life of many other large sharks: they lived relatively long lives and were slow growing and produced large offspring and small litters.
Falcatidae is a family of Paleozoic holocephalians. Members of this family include Falcatus, a small fish from the Bear Gulch Limestone of Montana. The family first appeared around the start of the Carboniferous, and there is some evidence that they survived well into the early Cretaceous, though its putative Cretaceous members were also argued to be more likely neoselachians.
Gnathorhiza is an extinct genus of prehistoric lobe-finned fish (lungfish) which lived from the Carboniferous period to the Early Triassic epoch. It is the only known lungfish genus to have crossed the Permo-Triassic boundary. Several species have been described, ranging in size from 5 to 50 centimeters.
Hybodontiformes, commonly called hybodonts, are an extinct group of shark-like chondrichthyans, which existed from the late Devonian to the Late Cretaceous. They form the group of Elasmobranchii closest to neoselachians, the clade of modern sharks and rays. Hybodonts were named and are distinguished based on their conical tooth shape. They are also noted for the presence of a spine on each of their two dorsal fins. They were abundant in marine and freshwater environments during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic, but were rare in open marine environments by the end of the Jurassic, having been largely replaced by modern sharks, though they were still common in freshwater and marginal marine habitats. They survived until the end of the Cretaceous, before going extinct.
Delorhynchus is an extinct genus of lanthanosuchoid parareptile known from the late Early Permian Garber Formation of Comanche County, Oklahoma. It contains three species: the type species D. priscus is based on a series of maxillae. The second species to be described, D. cifellii, is known from a larger number of well-preserved skulls and skeletal material. The third species, D. multidentatus, is based on a fragmentary skull with several rows of teeth on its jaw.
Cummingella is a genus of proetid trilobite in the family Phillipsiidae that lived from the earliest Carboniferous until the last species' extinction in the Middle Permian. Fossils have been found in corresponding marine strata of western Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Plicatodus is a prehistoric shark in the family Xenacanthidae that lived in Europe during the late Carboniferous and Early Permian Periods. It was described by Oliver Hampe in 1995, and the type species is Plicatodus jordani. The type locality for this genus is the Saar-Nahe basin.
The Eyam Limestone is a geologic formation in the Peak District, England. It preserves fossils dating back to the Viséan stage of the Carboniferous period, and represents a marine environment.
Acanthorhachis is an enigmatic extinct genus of chondrichthyan from the Carboniferous period. Its name is derived from the Greek word acanthos meaning "spine" and the Greek suffix for spine, -rhachis. This is due to the spine-like dermal denticles and their subsidiary spines, which coated the exterior of the animal. The authors who erected this genus suggested the common name "The Spiny Spined Shark." The type species Listracanthus spinatus was in 1896 named by Herbert Bolton.
Listracanthidae is a proposed family of extinct cartilaginous fish. It currently includes the genera Listracanthus and Acanthorhachis. This clade is likely included within Elasmobranchii, but its placement within it is uncertain. Both genera are known from their distinctive spiny dermal dentictles which coat the exterior of their long, slender bodies. They are known from the Viséan to the Early Triassic, mainly from what is now the northern hemisphere. However, there is a possible occurrence in Australia.
Ctenacanthiformes is an extinct order of elasmobranch fish. They possessed ornamented fin spines at the front of their dorsal fins and cladodont-type dentition, that is typically of a grasping morphology, though some taxa developed cutting and gouging tooth morphologies. Some ctenacanths are thought to have reached sizes comparable to the great white shark, with body lengths of up to 7 metres (23 ft) and weights of 1,500–2,500 kilograms (3,300–5,500 lb). Ctenacanths are typically thought to have existed from the Devonian to the Late Permian, becoming extinct in the Permian-Triassic extinction event. Members of the family Ctenacanthidae may have survived into the Cretaceous based on teeth found in deep water deposits of Valanginian age in France and Austria, however, other authors contend that the similarity of these teeth to Paleozoic ctenacanths is only superficial, and they likely belong to neoselachians instead. The monophyly of the group has been questioned, with some studies recovering the group as a whole as paraphyletic or polyphyletic.
Cretacladoides is a genus of chondrichthyan, possibly a falcatid, found in France and Austria. Known solely from teeth, mainly found in the Klausrieglerbach locality of Austria, it consists of two species, C. ogiveformis and C. noricum. Assuming a falcatid identity, it is the most recent member of the family, which otherwise became extinct at the end of the Carboniferous.
Squatinactis is a genus of extinct elasmobranch Chondrichthyes known from the Carboniferous aged Bear Gulch Limestone in Montana. This fish was discovered in 1974 by Richard Lund. The type specimen, named CMNH 46133, consists of a brain case, poorly preserved jaws and gills, a pectoral fin, and a partial vertebral axis. This creatures most startling feature were its broad pectoral fins which resembled those of stingrays and angel sharks (Squatina). The holotype specimen has about 15 teeth in its jaw. This creature is named after the angel shark. Remains found in the South Urals of Russia and the Eyam Limestone of Derbyshire, England, have been tentatively identified as those belonging to S. caudispinatus.
Saivodus is an extinct genus of ctenacanthiform fish that existed in early Mississippian of the Carboniferous period. Fossils have been found in Ireland, Scotland, England, Belgium, Morocco, and the United States. Teeth assigned to that genus are also known from the Permian (Leonardian) Kaibab Formation.
Reesodus is an extinct genus of hybodontiform. It lived from the Tournaisian age of the Early Carboniferous to the Wordian age of the Permian, and remains have been found in England, Russia and Oman. The generic name honors Jan Rees, who first realized that the fossils belong to a distinct genus.
