Antiarchi

From Paleos

The Antiarchi ("Opposite anus") were the 2nd most successful order of placoderms known, after the Arthrodira. The order's name was coined by Edward Drinker Cope, who, when examining some fossils, mistakenly thought that the space in the joint between the plates of the back and the head was the mouth of the beast.

The front portions of their bodies were heavily armored, to the point of literally resembling a box with eyes, with the sometimes scaled, sometimes naked rear portions often becoming sinuous, particularly with later forms. The pair of pectoral fins were modified into a pair of caliper-like, or arthropod-like limbs. In primitive forms, such as Yunnanolepis, the limbs were thick and short, while in advanced forms, such as Bothriolepis, the limbs were long and had elbow-like joints. The function of the limbs are still not perfectly understood, but, most hypothesize that they helped their owners pull themselves across the substrate, as well as allow their owners to bury themselves into the substrate.

Links

Review of Antiarcha at Paleos [1]Template:Stub