''Metopacanthus'' is an extinct genus of

cartilaginous fish Chondrichthyes (; ) is a class that contains the cartilaginous fishes that have skeletons primarily composed of cartilage. They can be contrasted with the Osteichthyes or ''bony fishes'', which have skeletons primarily composed of bone tissue ...

from the

Early Jurassic The Early Jurassic Epoch (geology), Epoch (in chronostratigraphy corresponding to the Lower Jurassic series (stratigraphy), Series) is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic Period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-J ...

epoch in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. It is known from the Toarcian of the

Posidonia Shale The Posidonia Shale (german: Posidonienschiefer, also called Schistes Bitumineux in Luxembourg) geologically known as the Sachrang Formation, is an Early Jurassic (Toarcian) geological formation of southwestern and northeast Germany, northern Swit ...

of Germany. It is unusual due to being an extrange aberrant Chimaera, with a jaw-like structure over the skull. It had long fin spine with length of .

References

Prehistoric cartilaginous fish genera Jurassic cartilaginous fish Early Jurassic fish Toarcian life Jurassic fish of Europe Jurassic Germany Fossils of Germany Posidonia Shale {{paleo-cartilaginous-fish-stub