lobe-finned fish

[ lohb-find ]

noun

1. any fish that has rounded scales and lobed fins, as the coelacanth.

lobe-finned fish

1. 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.
2. Also called sarcopterygian
3. Compare ray-finned fishSee also crossopterygian