Iniopteryx is an extinct genus

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 cartilaginous fish. It is from the Pennsylvanian

Pennsylvanian

The Pennsylvanian is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the younger of two subperiods of the Carboniferous Period. It lasted from roughly . As with most other geochronologic units, the rock beds that define the Pennsylvanian are well identified, but the exact date of the start and end are uncertain...

 epoch of the Carboniferous

Carboniferous

The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Permian Period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Mya . The name is derived from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous means "coal-bearing"...

 period, approximately 300 million years ago. Their fossils have been found in 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...

, primarily in two states: Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

 and Montana

Montana

Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

. In general, very little is known about this species.

Characteristics

Iniopteryx was a plump, small-sized chimaera

Chimaera

Chimaeras are cartilaginous fish in the order Chimaeriformes, known informally as ghost sharks, ratfish , spookfish , or rabbitfishes...

-like fish. It is known that the species average size was around half a meter long in length. While the species had specialized spines and fins similar to that of a flying fish. It is possible that it could glide through the air just like them. However, it is accepted by Scientists and Paleontologists that Iniopteryx was indeed a fish that was the bottom-dwelling kind.

Sources

• Vertebrate Palaeontology by Michael J. Benton

http://www.archive.org/stream/iniopterygianewo06zang/iniopterygianewo06zang_djvu.txt

• The Search For ANCIENT SHARKS Discovery Communications Inc.

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/prehistoricsharks/gallery7.html

• Hallazgo Del Fósil De Un Cerebro (Original Article is written in Spanish)

http://www.amenito.com/hallazgo-del-fosil-de-un-cerebro