crossopterygian

cros·sop·te·ryg·i·an

C0764700 (krŏ-sŏp′tə-rĭj′ē-ən)n. Any of various lobe-finned fishes, including the coelacanths but usually not the lungfishes. No longer in scientific use.

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[From New Latin Crossopterygiī, group name : Greek krossoi, fringe (from krossōtos, fringed, from krossai, projecting stone blocks) + Greek pterugia, fins, pl. diminutive of pterux, pterug-, wing; see pterygoid.]

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cros·sop′te·ryg′i·an adj.

crossopterygian

(krɒˌsɒptəˈrɪdʒɪən) n (Animals) any bony fish of the subclass Crossopterygii, having fleshy limblike pectoral fins. The group, now mostly extinct, contains the ancestors of the amphibians. See also coelacanthadj (Animals) of, relating to, or belonging to the Crossopterygii[C19: from New Latin Crossopterygiī, from Greek krossoi fringe, tassels + pterugion a little wing, from pterux wing]

cros•sop•te•ryg•i•an

(krɒˌsɒp təˈrɪdʒ i ən)

n. 1. any fish of the group Crossopterygii, extinct except for the coelacanth, and including the ancestors of amphibians and other land vertebrates. adj. 2. pertaining to or resembling a crossopterygian. [1860–65; < New Latin Crossopterygi(i) (< Greek kross(oí) tassels, fringe + -o- -o- + pterýgi(on) little wing or fin, diminutive of ptéryx, s. pteryg- wing, fin) + -an¹]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

crossopterygian - any fish of the order Crossopterygii; most known only in fossil formlobefin, lobe-finned fishbony fish - any fish of the class OsteichthyesCrossopterygii, subclass Crossopterygii - fishes having paired fins resembling limbs and regarded as ancestral to amphibianscoelacanth, Latimeria chalumnae - fish thought to have been extinct since the Cretaceous period but found in 1938 off the coast of Africa