| P number: | P549584 |
|---|---|
| Caption: | Lepidotes, a Jurassic ray-finned fish. |
| Description: | The end of the Palaeozoic times saw the evolution of many new types of ray-finned fish, and the development of many features seen in modern fish. Lepidotes was one of the early-ray finned fish, evolving in the Triassic and becoming extinct in the early Cretaceous. The teeth of this fossil fish, which were once known as 'toad stones' as it was thought they formed inside the heads of toads, were believed to be a cure for epilepsy and an antidote to poison. One of the advances in fish evolution was a change in the jaw type at the end of Palaeozoic times. Lepidotes was one of the early fish which had a shorter upper jaw that was disconnected from the cheek bones enabling it to feed differently. It could form a tube through which food could be sucked. Lepidotes had a large dorsal fin, and the underside had well-formed pectoral, pelvic and anal fins which aided it in stability in the water. Fish are cold-blooded vertebrates with a braincase, fins for swimming and gills to take oxygen from the water (although some also have lungs). They therefore differ from other aquatic creatures like invertebrate molluscs or crabs; amphibians and reptiles, which have lungs and limbs rather than gills and fins; and whales and dolphins which are warm-blooded mammals. Fish are the first vertebrates, having evolved during the early Cambrian over 500 million years ago. |
| Photographer: | Unknown |
| Copyright statement: | Unknown |
| Orientation: | Landscape |
| Size: | 560.26 KB; 1000 x 590 pixels; 85 x 50 mm (print at 300 DPI); 265 x 156 mm (screen at 96 DPI); |
| Average Rating: | Not yet rated |
| Categories: | Best of BGS Images/ Fossils |
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