Prehistoric fish are early fish that are known only from fossil records. They are the earliest known vertebrates, and include the first and extinct fish that lived through the Cambrian to the Quaternary. The study of prehistoric fish is called paleoichthyology. A few living forms, such as the coelacanth are also referred to as prehistoric fish, or even living fossils, due to their current rarity and similarity to extinct forms. Fish which have become recently extinct are not usually referred to as prehistoric fish.
Categories of prehistoric fish
Groups of various prehistoric fishes include:
Jawless fish
Placoderms
Acanthodians
Cartilaginous fish
Basal ray-finned fish
Modern ray-finned fish (Teleosts)
Lobe-finned fish
See also
- Evolution of fish
- Prehistoric life
- Vertebrate paleontology
References
Other reading
- Janvier, Philippe (1998) Early Vertebrates, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-854047-7
- Long, John A. (1996) The Rise of Fishes: 500 Million Years of Evolution, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-5438-5
External links
- Fossil Fish
