''Sauripterus'' ("lizard wing") is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of rhizodont

lobe-finned fish Sarcopterygii (; )—sometimes considered synonymous with Crossopterygii ()—is a clade (traditionally a class or subclass) of vertebrate animals which includes a group of bony fish commonly referred to as lobe-finned fish. These vertebrates ar ...

that lived during the

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a period (geology), geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era during the Phanerozoic eon (geology), eon, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian per ...

period. This genus was described by J. Hall after its discovery at Powy's Curve in the Catskill Formation of Pennsylvania, US. ''Sauripterus'' utilized its radial joints and flexors to stiffen its fins, facilitating various swimming movements. T.A. Stewart,J.B. Lemberg,N.K. Taft,I. Yoo,E.B. Daeschler,& N.H. Shubin, Fin ray patterns at the fin-to-limb transition, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 117 (3) 1612-1620,(2020). Marcus C. Davis, Shubin, N., & Daeschler, E. B. (2004). A New Specimen of Sauripterus taylori (Sarcopterygii, Osteichthyes) from the Famennian Catskill Formation of North America. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 24(1), 26–40.

References

Rhizodontida Prehistoric lobe-finned fish genera Late Devonian sarcopterygians Devonian sarcopterygians of North America {{paleo-tetrapodomorph-stub