Fishes Of The Carboniferous Age Editorial Image

Characteristic of the Carboniferous period (from about 360 million to 300 million years ago) were its dense and swampy forests which gave rise to large deposits of peat. Over the eons the peat transformed into rich coal stores in Western Europe and North America. The name "Carboniferous" refers to this coal. Sarcopterygian fish were also prominent and one group the Rhizodonts reached very large size. Most species of Carboniferous marine fish have been described largely from teeth fin spines and dermal ossicles with smaller freshwater fish preserved whole.