| Osteolepis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Osteolepis macrolepidotus fossil at the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Sarcopterygii |
| Clade: | Tetrapodomorpha |
| Order: | †Osteolepiformes |
| Family: | †Osteolepididae |
| Genus: | †Osteolepis Agassiz, 1843 |
Osteolepis (fromGreek:ὀστέονostéon 'bone' andGreek:λεπίςlepis 'scale')[1][2] is an extinct genus oflobe-finned fish from theDevonian period. It lived in theLake Orcadie of northernScotland.
Osteolepis was about 20 centimetres (7.9 in) long, and covered with large, squarescales. The scales and plates on its head were covered in a thin layer of spongy, bony material calledcosmine. This layer contained canals that were connected to sensory cells deeper in the skin. These canals ended in pores on the surface and were probably for sensing vibrations in the water.[3]
Osteolepis was arhipidistian, having a number of features in common with thetetrapods (land-dwelling vertebrates and their descendants), and was probably close to the base of the tetrapod family tree.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | This article about atetrapodomorph is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
.jpg)
.jpg)
