Palaeospondylus

Palaeospondylus

      genus of enigmatic fossil vertebrates that were very fishlike in appearance but of uncertain relationships. Palaeospondylus, from the Middle Devonian epoch (398 million to 385 million years ago), has been found in the Old Red Sandstone rocks in the region of Achannaras, Scot. Hundreds of specimens are known, yet the position of this genus in relation to other fishlike vertebrates is still poorly understood. Palaeospondylus was about 5 cm (about 2 inches) long. Unlike most of the contemporary forms of the Middle Devonian, the skeleton of Palaeospondylus was very well ossified, and no dermal armour was present, a feature prominent among the placoderms (placoderm). A well-developed caudal, or tail, fin was present.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Palaeospondylus — Taxobox name = Palaeospondylus fossil range = Middle Devonian regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata subphylum = Vertebrata genus = Palaeospondylus Palaeospondylus gunni ( Gunn s Ancient Vertebrae ) is a mysterious, fish like fossil vertebrate. Its… …   Wikipedia

  • palaeospondylus — palaeo·spondylus …   English syllables

  • palaeospondylus — | ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷+ noun Usage: capitalized Etymology: New Latin, from pale + spondylus : a genus of extinct primitive vertebrates that are known from a single form (P. gunni) of the Devonian of Scotland that is usually about one inch long with a… …   Useful english dictionary

  • παλαιοσπόνδυλος — (palaeospondylus). Γένος σπονδυλωτών, κυκλόστομων κρανιωτών που έχουν εκλείψει. Τα ζώα αυτά είχαν χοντρόστεο σκελετό και κρανίο αρκετά μεγάλο. Το σώμα τους είχε μορφή ιχθυοειδή ή εγχελυοειδή, εσωτερικά όμως ήταν διαμορφωμένα ατελέστερα από τα… …   Dictionary of Greek

  • fish — fishless, adj. /fish/, n., pl. (esp. collectively) fish, (esp. referring to two or more kinds or species) fishes, v. n. 1. any of various cold blooded, aquatic vertebrates, having gills, commonly fins, and typically an elongated body covered with …   Universalium

  • Fish — /fish/, n. Hamilton, 1808 93, U.S. statesman: secretary of state 1869 77. * * * I Any of more than 24,000 species of cold blooded vertebrates found worldwide in fresh and salt water. Living species range from the primitive lampreys and hagfishes… …   Universalium

  • Prehistoric fish — are various groups of fishes that lived before recorded history. A few, such as the coelacanth still exist today and are considered living fossils.The first fish and the first vertebrates, were the ostracoderms, which appeared in the Cambrian… …   Wikipedia

  • Coccosteus — Temporal range: Middle Devonian–Late Devonian …   Wikipedia

  • List of fossils — This is a list of notable fossils. Note: this does not attempt to be an exhausive list of fossils, of which there are millions, but those that are of enough significance to merit a wikipedia article. The list will be arranged by geologic… …   Wikipedia

  • List of prehistoric jawless fish — This list of prehistoric jawless fish is an attempt to create a comprehensive listing of all genera from the fossil record that have ever been considered to be jawless fish, excluding purely vernacular terms. The list includes all commonly… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”