Any of various fishes of the class Sarcopterygii, having paired fins that are rounded and fleshy, suggesting limbs. One group of lobe-finned fish are thought to be ancestors of amphibians and other land-dwelling vertebrate animals. They first appeared in the Devonian Period and are extinct except for the coelacanth and lungfish. Also called sarcopterygian Compare ray-finned fish. See also crossopterygian.
