Description

Coccosteus is an extinct genus of arthrodire placoderm fish.

Its temporal range is Middle Devonian and Early Devonian, 380 Mya.

Like other arthrodires, Coccosteus had joints between the plates of the body and the skull. In addition, it also had an internal joint between the vertebrae of its neck and the back of the skull, which allowed it to open its mouth at a wider angle and hunt larger prey.

Probably the best-known arthrodire, Coccosteus was described in 1841, and since then up to 49 species have been identified, many of them later reclassified. Its fossils have been found throughout Europe and North America. Most of these fossils have been found in freshwater sediments. Our replica measures 40 cm, large size of the adult specimens of Coccosteus cuspidatus

References consulted: Michael J. Newman, Elga Mark-Kurik, Jan L. Den Blaauwen, Ivars Zupins(2015)Scottish Middle Devonian fishes in Estonia 2015Scottish Journal of Geology 51:141-147 DOI:10.1144/sjg2014-006 R. , T. S. Westoll (1968) IX.—The Placoderm Fish Coccosteus cuspidatus Miller ex Agassiz from the Middle Old Red Sandstone of Scotland. Part I. Descriptive Morphology Johanson, Moya Meredith Smith (2005) Origin and Evolution of Gnathostome Dentitions: A Question of Teeth and Pharyngeal Denticles in Placoderms Zerina