Pharyngolepis
Appearance
(Redirected from Pharyngolepididae)
Pharyngolepis Temporal range:
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | †Anaspida |
Order: | †Birkeniiformes |
Family: | †Pharyngolepididae Kiær 1924 corrig. |
Genus: | †Pharyngolepis Kiaer 1911 |
Type species | |
Pharyngolepis oblonga Kiær 1911
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Species | |
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Pharyngolepis is an extinct genus of primitive jawless fish that lived in the Silurian period of what is now Norway.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/78/Pharyngolepis_oblonga.jpg/220px-Pharyngolepis_oblonga.jpg)
Pharyngolepis had well-developed anal and caudal fins, but no paired or dorsal fins that would have helped stabilise it in the water, and so was probably a poor swimmer, remaining close to the sea bottom. The pectoral fins were instead replaced by bony spines, possibly for protection against predators, and there was a row of spines along the back. It probably scooped up food from the ocean floor.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 25. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.