Description:This is a very well-preserved example of a Paleoniscoid fish known as Elonichthys. The paleoniscoids were the first ray-finned fish, a feature readily seen here. Some 40 or more families appeared during the Carboniferous and Permian Periods. This genus went extinct during the Lower Permian.It is not to be confused with the fish called “Elonichhys” from the Mazon Creek Carboniferous deposits of the US, for which the proper genus name is still in dispute. Notice the details in the rhombic scales and the heterocercal caudal fin. Specimens are no longer being quarried from the region, so acquisition from older collections such as this one are the only way to add a fine example such as this to your collection.

Also see: Paleozoic Fish Fossils