Skip to content
Dinosgacha

Fish

Stethacanthus

Stethacanthus is known for the unusual anvil-shaped structure associated with the dorsal region of males.

Stethacanthus is known for the unusual anvil-shaped structure associated with the dorsal region of males. It is one of the most immediately recognizable fossil shark-like fishes.

Three stages. One companion.

Game artwork
AI-generated Dinosgacha game illustration of Stethacanthus (Stethacanthus altonensis), young stage.
YoungView full size: Stethacanthus Young
AI-generated Dinosgacha game illustration of Stethacanthus (Stethacanthus altonensis), juvenile stage.
JuvenileView full size: Stethacanthus Juvenile
AI-generated Dinosgacha game illustration of Stethacanthus (Stethacanthus altonensis), adult stage.
AdultView full size: Stethacanthus Adult

AI-generated, stylized game illustrations. These designs and growth stages are imaginative, not scientific reconstructions.

Stethacanthus at a glance

Diet
Carnivore
Its feeding structures are interpreted as adapted to taking animal prey.
When it lived
Late Devonian and Carboniferous
Group
Symmoriidae
Symmoriidae

Beyond the game

The real Stethacanthus

Stethacanthus is known for the unusual anvil-shaped structure associated with the dorsal region of males. It is one of the most immediately recognizable fossil shark-like fishes.

The unusual structure is associated with males rather than being a universal feature of all individuals. Its function and development remain more difficult to interpret than its preserved outline.

Fossil discoveries

Bashkortostan, Russia · approximate locationMontana, United States · approximate locationGansu, China · approximate locationNebraska, United States · approximate locationIndiana, United States · approximate locationindiana, United States · approximate location
Bashkortostan, RussiaMontana, United StatesGansu, ChinaNebraska, United StatesIndiana, United Statesindiana, United States

Selected fossil records · present-day map

Map references

Paleobiology Database · A. Ivanov. 2005. Early Permian chondrichthyans of the middle and south Urals. Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia 8(2):127-138 ↗

Paleobiology Database · R. Lund. 1985. The morphology of Falcatus falcatus (St. John and Worthen), a Mississippian stethacanthid chondrichthyan from the Bear Gulch Limestone of Montana. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 5(1):1-19 ↗

Paleobiology Database · N. Wang, J. Fan, and W. Wang. 2004. Early Carboniferous Fishes (Acanthodian, Actinopterygians, and Chondrichthyes) from the East Sector of North Qilian Mountain, China. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 42(2):89-110 ↗

Paleobiology Database · M. E. Williams. 1985. The "Cladodont level" sharks of the Pennsylvanian black shales of central North America. Palaeontographica Abteilung A 190:83-158 ↗

Paleobiology Database · M. E. Williams. 1985. The "Cladodont level" sharks of the Pennsylvanian black shales of central North America. Palaeontographica Abteilung A 190:83-158 ↗

Paleobiology Database · M. E. Williams. 1985. The "Cladodont level" sharks of the Pennsylvanian black shales of central North America. Palaeontographica Abteilung A 190:83-158 ↗

Map: Natural Earth, public domain. Fossil records: Paleobiology Database and linked collections and publications.

Sources & text credits

Explore the references behind this profile.

  1. The morphology of Falcatus falcatus, a Mississippian stethacanthid chondrichthyan
  2. Paleobiology Database: Stethacanthus altonensis (txn:151627)

Original English Dinosgacha summaries informed by the linked scientific and museum references; source publications retain their own rights.

Start your own adventure Explore all creatures