Acanthodes

Acanthodes (from , 'provided with spines') is an extinct genus of acanthodian fish. Species have been found in Europe, North America, and Asia, spanning the Early Carboniferous to the Early Permian, making it one of the youngest known acanthodian genera.

Acanthodes (from , 'provided with spines') is an extinct genus of acanthodian fish. Species have been found in Europe, North America, and Asia, spanning the Early Carboniferous to the Early Permian, making it one of the youngest known acanthodian genera. ==Description== The largest species of Acanthodes like Acanthodes confusus and Acanthodes splendidus grew to lengths of at least , while some species like Acanthodes ultimus were much smaller, reaching a total body length of only . The body was elongate and had a pair of pectoral fins, an unpaired dorsal fin far back on the body, with an unpaired long ventral/pelvic fin and an anal fin on the underside of the body, which like other acanthodians were supported by stiff spines at their front edges. The whole body was covered in scales, which varied in shape depending on their position. The vertebral column was typically unossified. Species of Acanthodes differ from each other in the degree of body elongation and the size and shape of the fins. Acanthodes had no teeth and had long gill rakers. Because of this, Acanthodes is presumed to have been a suspension feeder, filtering plankton from the water. A specimen of Acanthodes bridgei was so well-preserved that traces of its eye tissue were sufficient to establish that Acanthodes had both rod and cone photoreceptor cells, suggesting that it was capable of color vision. ==References== Parker, Steve. Dinosaurus: the complete guide to dinosaurs. Firefly Books Inc, 2003. Pg. 60 ==External links== entry at Saint Joseph's University

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