placoderm
[ plak-uh-durm ]
/ ˈplæk əˌdɜrm /
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noun
any of various extinct jawed fishes of the class Placodermi, dominant in seas and rivers during the Devonian Period and characterized by bony armored plates on the head and upper trunk.
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Words nearby placoderm
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for placoderm
Placoderm, plak′o-dėrm, adj. noting an order of fossil fishes having their skin covered with bony plates.
British Dictionary definitions for placoderm
placoderm
/ (ˈplækəˌdɜːm) /
noun
any extinct bony-plated fishlike vertebrate of the class Placodermi, of Silurian to Permian times: thought to have been the earliest vertebrates with jaws
Word Origin for placoderm
C19: from Greek plac-, plax a flat plate + -derm
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Scientific definitions for placoderm
placoderm
[ plăk′ə-dûrm′ ]
Any of various extinct fishes of the class Placodermi of the Silurian and Devonian Periods, characterized by bony plates of armor covering the head and flanks. The bodies of placoderms were spindle-shaped or flattened, and their skeletons were usually partially bony and included a cranium. Placoderms were the first group of fish to evolve jaws, but are not closely related to the jawed fish of today.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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