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PHARYNGOLEPIS

PHARYNGOLEPIS This anapsid must have been an awkward, inefficient swimmer, since it lacked the basic stabilizing fins of other fishes. A row of crested plates ran along its back, and a pair of bony spines projected from the pectoral area. There was a well-developed anal fin, and the tail was downturned. But none of these features would have stabalized this fish's deep body in the water. Pharyngolepis' feeding method was probably to plow through the bottom sediment, head-first, scooping up tiny food particles in its rounded mouth. ©1988 Marshall Editions Limited .