Placoderms are members of the class Placodermi of armoured prehistoric fish, known from fossils, which lived from the Silurian to the end of the Devonian period. Their head and thorax were covered by articulated armoured plates and the rest of the body was scaled or naked, depending on the species. Placoderms were among the first jawed fish; their jaws likely evolved from the first of their gill arches.
Dunkleosteus is an extinct genus of large arthrodire ("jointed-neck") fish that existed during the Late Devonian period, about 382–358 million years ago. It was a pelagic fish inhabiting open waters, and one of the first apex predators of any ecosystem.
Arthrodira is an order of extinct armored, jawed fishes of the class Placodermi that flourished in the Devonian period before their sudden extinction, surviving for about 50 million years and penetrating most marine ecological niches. Arthrodires were the largest and most diverse of all groups of placoderms.
Bothriolepis was a widespread, abundant and diverse genus of antiarch placoderms that lived during the Middle to Late Devonian period of the Paleozoic Era. Historically, Bothriolepis resided in an array of paleo-environments spread across every paleocontinent, including near shore marine and freshwater settings. Most species of Bothriolepis were characterized as relatively small, benthic, freshwater detritivores, averaging around 30 centimetres (12 in) in length. However, the largest species, B. rex, had an estimated bodylength of 170 centimetres (67 in). Although expansive with over 60 species found worldwide, comparatively Bothriolepis is not unusually more diverse than most modern bottom dwelling species around today.
Heintzichthys is an extinct monospecific genus of arthrodire placoderm that lived what is now Europe and North America during the Famennian stage of the Late Devonian period. The type specimen was discovered in the Cleveland Shale near Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States.
Dicksonosteus is an extinct genus of basal arthrodire placoderm fish which lived during the Early Devonian period of Spitsbergen, Norway.
Gorgonichthys is extinct monospecific genus of large arthrodire placoderm. Fossils are found in the Upper Famennian Cleveland Shales of Late Devonian in Ohio. The type species is Gorgonichthys clarki.
Stenosteus is an extinct monospecific genus of medium-sized selenosteid arthrodire placoderms of the Late Devonian period known from the Upper Famennian Cleveland Shale of Ohio. Estimated skull lengths range from 6 to 9 centimeters Most fossils of Stenosteus have been scraps of armor and portions of tooth-plates suggestive of Selenosteus. In 1996, enough material of a new species, S. angustopectus, was recovered to allow a reconstruction of armor that resembles that of Selenosteus.
Gymnotrachelus is an extinct monospecific genus of large selenosteid arthrodire placoderm of the Late Devonian known from the Late Famennian Cleveland Shale of Ohio. The type species Gymnotrachelus hydei was originally reconstructed as physically resembling Selenosteus, with slightly smaller orbits. Later specimens led to a reappraisal, and now G. hydei is thought to have a more gar-like or barracuda-like build.
Microsteus is an extinct genus of small selenosteid arthrodire placoderms known from the Upper Frasnian Kellwasserkalk facies of Late Devonian Germany.
Rhinosteus is an extinct genus of small to medium selenosteid arthrodire placoderms of the Late Devonian known from the Upper Frasnian Kellwasserkalk facies of Bad Wildungen, Germany and Morocco.
Pachyosteus is an extinct monospecific genus of medium-sized selenosteid arthrodire placoderm known from the Upper Frasnian Kellwasserkalk facies of Late Devonian Bad Wildungen, Germany and from the Famennian portions of the Holy Cross Mountains of Poland. The type species Pachyosteus bulla has a broad skull about 7 to 10 centimetres long, a comparatively long median dorsal plate, and a short rostral plate that meets the pineal plate.
Walterosteus is an extinct genus of small selenosteid arthrodire placoderms known from the Upper Frasnian Kellwasserkalk facies of Late Devonian Germany and Morocco.
Palmatolepis is an extinct conodont genus in the family Palmatolepidae. It was the most abundant genus of conodonts of the Late Devonian, disappearing during the Devonian/Carboniferous crisis.
Lehmanosteus is an extinct monospecific genus of arthrodire placoderm fish, named after French paleontologist Jean-Pierre Lehman. The type species Lehmanosteus hyperboreus was described in 1984, and was found in Early Devonian strata of the Wood Bay Formation on the island of Spitsbergen, Svalbard in Norway.
Kujdanowiaspis is an extinct genus of arthrodire placoderm fish from the Early Devonian of Podolia (Ukraine), Poland and Spain. Kujdanowiaspis is known from many fragmentary head shields and body armours.
Amazichthys is an extinct genus of selenosteid arthrodire from the Middle Famennian of the Late Devonian of the Anti-Atlas Mountains of Morocco. It contains a single species, Amazichthys trinajsticae. It is one of a few example of placoderm known from whole body shape, including cartilaginous axial and fin elements.
Alienacanthus is a genus of selenosteid placoderm from the Famennian Ostrówka Quarry in the Świętokrzyskie Mountains, Poland, and Kowala Quarry along with the Maïder Basin in the Anti-Atlas, Morocco. The type and only species is A. malkowskii, known from a handful of specimens.
