''Climatius'' (from el, κλίμα , 'gradation')
is an extinct genus of
spiny shark
Acanthodii or acanthodians is an extinct class of gnathostomes (jawed fishes), typically considered a paraphyletic group. They are currently considered to represent a grade of various fish lineages leading up to the extant Chondrichthyes, which ...
. Fossils have been found in both Europe and North America.
''Climatius'' was an active swimmer, judging from its powerful
caudal fin
Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...
and abundant stabilizing fins, and probably preyed on other
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
and
crustacean
Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...
s. Its lower jaw was lined with sharp
teeth
A tooth ( : teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, tear ...
which were replaced when worn, but the upper jaw had no teeth. It had large eyes, suggesting that it hunted by sight.
It was a small fish, at , and to discourage predators, ''Climatius'' sported fifteen sharp spines. There was one spine each on the paired
pelvic
The pelvis (plural pelves or pelvises) is the lower part of the trunk, between the abdomen and the thighs (sometimes also called pelvic region), together with its embedded skeleton (sometimes also called bony pelvis, or pelvic skeleton).
The ...
and
pectoral
Pectoral may refer to:
* The chest region and anything relating to it.
* Pectoral cross, a cross worn on the chest
* a decorative, usually jeweled version of a gorget
* Pectoral (Ancient Egypt), a type of jewelry worn in ancient Egypt
* Pectoralis ...
fins, and on the aingle
anal
Anal may refer to:
Related to the anus
*Related to the anus of animals:
** Anal fin, in fish anatomy
** Anal vein, in insect anatomy
** Anal scale, in reptile anatomy
*Related to the human anus:
** Anal sex, a type of sexual activity involvin ...
and two
dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...
s, and a four pairs without fins on the fish's underside.
[
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See also
*List of acanthodians
This list of acanthodian genera is an attempt to create a comprehensive listing of all genera that have ever been included in the subclass Acanthodii, excluding purely vernacular terms. The list includes all commonly accepted genera, but also gen ...
References
* Parker, Steve. Dinosaurus: the complete guide to dinosaurs. Firefly Books Inc, 2003. Pg. 60
Acanthodii genera
Silurian acanthodians
Devonian acanthodians
Devonian fish of North America
Silurian fish of North America
Devonian fish of Europe
Silurian fish of Europe
Paleozoic life of Nova Scotia
Taxa named by Louis Agassiz
{{Devonian-fish-stub