Acanthodii or acanthodians is an extinct class of gnathostomes. They are currently considered to represent a paraphyletic grade of various fish lineages basal to extant Chondrichthyes, which includes living sharks, rays, and chimaeras. Acanthodians possess a mosaic of features shared with both osteichthyans and chondrichthyans. In general body shape, they were similar to modern sharks, but their epidermis was covered with tiny rhomboid platelets like the scales of holosteians.
Eusthenopteron is a genus of prehistoric sarcopterygian fish known from several species that lived during the Late Devonian period, about 385 million years ago. It has attained an iconic status from its close relationship to tetrapods. Early depictions of animals of this genus show them emerging onto land, but paleontologists now think that eusthenopteron species were strictly aquatic animals, though this is not completely known.
Miguasha Provincial Park is a protected area near Carleton-sur-Mer on the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec in Canada. Created in 1985 by the Government of Quebec, Miguasha was designated a World Heritage Site in 1999 in recognition of its wealth of fossils, which display a crucial time during the evolution of life on Earth. Other names for this site are the Miguasha Fossil Site, the Bay of Escuminac Fossil Site, the Upper Devonian Escuminac Formation, and the Hugh-Miller Cliffs. It is also sometimes referred to on fossil specimens as 'Scaumenac Bay' or 'Scaumenac Bay P.Q.'
Cheirolepis is an extinct genus of marine and freshwater ray-finned fish that lived in the Devonian period of Europe and North America. It is the only genus yet known within the family Cheirolepididae and the order Cheirolepidiformes. It was among the most basal of the Devonian actinopterygians and is considered the first to possess the "standard" dermal cranial bones seen in later actinopterygians.
Holoptychius is an extinct genus of porolepiform lobe-finned fish from the Middle Devonian to Carboniferous (Mississippian) periods. It is known from fossils worldwide. The genus was first described by Louis Agassiz in 1839.
Tristichopterids (Tristichopteridae) were a diverse and successful group of fish-like tetrapodomorphs living throughout the Middle and Late Devonian. They first appeared in the Eifelian stage of the Middle Devonian. Within the group sizes ranged from a few tens of centimeters (Tristichopterus) to several meters.
The Fram Formation is an Upper Devonian (Frasnian) sequence of rock strata on Ellesmere Island that came into prominence in 2006 with the discovery in its rocks of examples of the transitional fossil, Tiktaalik, a sarcopterygian or lobe-finned fish showing many tetrapod characteristics. Fossils of Laccognathus embryi, a porolepiform lobe-finned fish, and Qikiqtania, a close relative of Tiktaalik, were also found in the formation. The Fram Formation is a Middle to Upper Devonian clastic wedge forming an extensive continental facies consisting of sediments derived from deposits laid down in braided stream systems that formed some 375 million years ago, at a time when the North American craton ("Laurentia") was straddling the equator.
Dr. Xiaobo Yu is a Chinese palaeontologist and professor on biological sciences. Yu is credited with first describing the lobe-finned fish Psarolepis romeri, a transitional species between fish and amphibians. Yu is currently a professor at Kean University in Union, New Jersey.
Porolepiformes is an order of prehistoric lobe-finned fish which lived during the Devonian period. They are thought to represent the sister group to lungfish. The group contains two families: Holoptychiidae and Porolepididae.
Glyptolepis is an extinct genus of porolepiform lobe-finned fish which lived during Devonian Period, from the early Eifelian to Frasnian Age. Species include Glyptolepis baltica and Glypotlepis leptopterus.
Devonosteus is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine lobe-finned fish known from the Late Devonian. It contains a single species, D. proteus from the late Frasnian of Wildungen, Germany. It has sometimes been considered a lungfish of the family Holodontidae, but this remains uncertain as the original specimen may be lost. Alternatively, it may be a tristichopterid, a type of basal tetrapodomorph.
Laccognathus is an extinct genus of amphibious lobe-finned fish from Europe and North America. They existed from the Middle Devonian to the Late Devonian. The name comes from Greek for 'pitted jaw'.
Plourdosteus is an extinct genus of placoderm arthrodire which was relatively widespread in Euramerica during the Givetian to Frasnian ages of the Devonian. It was a small placoderm, with P. canadensis specimen MNHM 2-177 measuring 37.5 cm (14.8 in) long.
Laccognathus embryi is an extinct species of porolepiform lobe-finned fish recovered from Ellesmere Island, Canada. It existed during the Frasnian age of the Late Devonian epoch.
Laccognathus panderi is an extinct lobe-finned fish from northern Europe. They existed from the Middle Devonian to the Late Devonian.
Laccognathus grossi is an extinct lobe-finned fish from eastern Europe. They existed during the Middle Devonian. The species is named after Walter Gross, who collected the first Laccognathus fossils belonging to L. panderi.
The Age of Fishes Museum is one of only two Devonian fish fossil museums in the world and is a National Heritage site due to its international scientific significance. Located in Canowindra, New South Wales, Australia, it was established in 1998. The Museum was designed by Australian architect, John Andrews. The museum houses a huge collection of Devonian fish fossils found at the Mandagery Sandstone in the Canowindra area.
The Escuminac Formation is a geologic formation in Quebec. It preserves fossils dating back to the Frasnian, in the Devonian period.
Glytpolepis is the scientific name of two genera of organisms and may refer to:
Achanarella is a genus of extinct jawless fish from the Achanarras Quarry in Scotland, dating to the Middle Devonian. The only known species in the genus is Achanarella trewini.
