Fossil Fish Info: Fossil fish can be found all over the world and represent some of the most beautiful and interesting fossil vertebrates. The most common fossil fish is the bony fish, a class that makes up most of the fish species found on earth today. Fossil fish are valuable to both scientists and collectors due to their beauty and the information they reveal about the past.
The Fossil Fish Record: Fish fossils represent the first known vertebrates in the fossil record. The earliest fish fossils have a structure referred to as a notochord which consists of a dorsal nerve cord with a specialized support rod. Fishes eventually evolved to have a backbone composed of vertebrae. Although many fossil fish have similar structures to the fish of today (i.e. gill slits), the earliest fossil fish are found with characteristics unique to ancient times. These early fish fossils can be found lacking jaws or having a bony armor to protect against predators. Modern fish have evolved from these ancient relatives, adapting many of the more ancient characteristics into useful body plans.Classification of Fish Fossils:Since their evolution on earth, fish have been very successful, adapting to a variety of environmental conditions and diversifying into many different species. There are four general classes of fish including the Agnatha, Placoderms, Osteichthyes, and the Chondrichthyes. Agnatha are known as the jawless fish, Placoderms are the armored fish, Chondrichthyes are the sharks, skates and rays and Osteichthyes are the bony fishes.
Article on the classification of Fish Fossils
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Fish Fossil Localities |
Arthrodire- These bony fish fossils are common
from the Devonian Period. |
Icthyosaurs are not true fish but reptiles: |
Fish Fossil Localities
Number........ and Location:
- ......................Green River Shale, Wyoming
- ......................Wapitit Lake, British Columbia
- ......................New South Wales, Australia
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