lobefin

Thân thiện

A scientist carefully examines a fossilized lobefin in a museum display.

Definition

Noun: A type of bony fish belonging to the order Crossopterygii, characterized by fleshy, lobe-shaped fins. Most species in this group are known only from fossils, though a few living representatives, such as the coelacanth, exist.

Examples

• Scientists study the fossilized lobefin to understand the evolution of vertebrates.
• The discovery of a living lobefin, the coelacanth, was a major zoological surprise.
• The lobefin's unique fin structure is considered a precursor to the limbs of land animals.

Advanced Usage

• Evolutionary Context: The term is primarily used in paleontology and evolutionary biology. It describes a crucial transitional form in the fossil record, illustrating the move from aquatic to terrestrial life.
  • The lobefin represents a key stage in the evolution of tetrapods.

Variants and Related Words

• Crossopterygian (noun): The formal, scientific synonym for lobefin.
• Sarcopterygian (noun): In modern classification, the broader clade (Sarcopterygii) that includes lobe-finned fishes and their tetrapod descendants. "Lobefin" is a common name for fish within this group.
• Coelacanth (noun): A well-known genus of living lobefin.

Synonyms

• Crossopterygian
• Lobe-finned fish (This is a compound form and should be considered a descriptive phrase rather than a single-word synonym for the target term "lobefin").

Different Meanings

The word "lobefin" has only one specific zoological meaning. It does not have common idiomatic or figurative uses.

Học thuật

Noun

1. any fish of the order Crossopterygii; most known only in fossil form

Từ đồng nghĩa

• crossopterygian
• lobe-finned fish