Asterolepis (fish)
Encyclopedia
Asterolepis is an extinct genus
of placoderms from the Devonian
of North America
and Europe
. They were heavily armored benthic detritivore
s with distinctive jointed limb-like pectoral fins.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of placoderms from the Devonian
Devonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. They were heavily armored benthic detritivore
Detritivore
Detritivores, also known as detritophages or detritus feeders or detritus eaters or saprophages, are heterotrophs that obtain nutrients by consuming detritus . By doing so, they contribute to decomposition and the nutrient cycles...
s with distinctive jointed limb-like pectoral fins.
See also
- BothriolepisBothriolepisBothriolepis was the most successful genus of antiarch placoderms, if not the most successful genus of any placoderm, with over 100 species found on every continent.-Description and palaeobiology:...
- List of placoderms