Osteolepididae

For the group of Permian microsaurs, see Ostodolepidae.

Osteolepididae
Temporal range: Devonian
Life restoration of Osteolepis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Sarcopterygii
Clade: Tetrapodomorpha
Order: †Osteolepiformes
Family: †Osteolepididae
Cope, 1889
Genera

See text

Osteolepididae is a family of primitive, fish-like tetrapodomorphs (the clade that contains modern tetrapods and their extinct relatives) that lived during the Devonian period. The family is generally thought to be paraphyletic, with the traits that characterise the family being widely distributed among basal tetrapodomorphs and other osteichthyans.[1] Some of the genera historically placed in Osteolepididae have more recently been assigned to the family Megalichthyidae, which appears to be a monophyletic group.[2]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Long1985 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Clement2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).