Sarcopterygian
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Any lobe-finned fish of the class Sarcopterygii, including the lungfish and coelacanths.
"[…] actinopterygians have 'ray fins' which are supported by a series of narrow cartilaginous or bony rods called radials, while sarcopterygians have 'lobe fins' supported by a single basal bone and with muscles that can modify the posture of the fin."
- 2 Any member of the clade that contains both lobe-finned fish and tetrapods (land vertebrates).
"2004, M. L. J. Stiassny, E. O, Wiley, G. D. Johnson, M. R, de Carvalho, 24: Gnathostome Fishes, Joel Cracraft, Michael J. Donoghue (editors), Assembling the Tree of Life, page 415, All sarcopterygians are characterized by the evolutionary innovation of having the pectoral fins articulating with the shoulder girdle by a single element, known as the humerus in tetrapods."
Synonyms
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More examples"[…] actinopterygians have 'ray fins' which are supported by a series of narrow cartilaginous or bony rods called radials, while sarcopterygians have 'lobe fins' supported by a single basal bone and with muscles that can modify the posture of the fin."
Etymology
From Sarcopterygii + -ian.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.