Detailed Paramblypterus Permian Fossil Fish from Germany

Description: This is a very well-preserved example of a Paleoniscoid fish known as Parmablypterus. 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. Notice the details in the rhombic scales and the heterocercal (longer top lobe) caudal fin. Specimens are no longer being quarried from the region.