crossopterygian

American  

[kro-sop-tuh-rij-ee-uhn] / krɒˌsɒp təˈrɪdʒ i ən /

noun

1. any fish of the group Crossopterygii, extinct except for the coelacanth, regarded as being ancestral to amphibians and other land vertebrates.

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adjective

1. pertaining to or resembling a crossopterygian.

crossopterygian British  

/ krɒˌsɒptəˈrɪdʒɪən /

noun

1. any bony fish of the subclass Crossopterygii, having fleshy limblike pectoral fins. The group, now mostly extinct, contains the ancestors of the amphibians See also coelacanth

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or belonging to the Crossopterygii

crossopterygian Scientific  

/ krŏ-sŏp′tə-rĭj′ē-ən /

1. Any of a mostly extinct group of lobe-finned fishes of the order Crossopterygii, whose only living member is the coelacanth. One group of crossopterygians is thought to have evolved into terrestrial vertebrates beginning in the Devonian Period.

2. See more at coelacanth

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Etymology

Origin of crossopterygian

1860–65; < New Latin Crossopterygi ( i ) group name (< Greek kross ( oí ) tassels, fringe + -o- -o- + pterýgi ( on ) little wing or fin, equivalent to pteryg- (stem of pterýx ) wing, fin + -ion diminutive suffix) + -an

Example Sentences

Left forelimb, showing characters of both a crossopterygian fin and an amphibian foot.

From A New Order of Fishlike Amphibia From the Pennsylvanian of Kansas by Eaton, Theodore H. (Theodore Hildreth)

The braincase of the Carboniferous crossopterygian Megalichthys nitidus.

From A New Order of Fishlike Amphibia From the Pennsylvanian of Kansas by Eaton, Theodore H. (Theodore Hildreth)

Posteriorly, there is a short, broad expansion resembling the entepicondyle of the humerus, and even more nearly like the postaxial flanges in a crossopterygian fin.

From A New Order of Fishlike Amphibia From the Pennsylvanian of Kansas by Eaton, Theodore H. (Theodore Hildreth)

In addition to this remarkable combination of crossopterygian and amphibian characters, Hesperoherpeton is specialized in certain features of the skull.

From A New Order of Fishlike Amphibia From the Pennsylvanian of Kansas by Eaton, Theodore H. (Theodore Hildreth)