Osteotela

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Osteotela is a clade of aquatic and eventually amphibious vertebrates characterised by calcified spines supporting fins along the lateral line, a high degree of cranial kinesis, and robust teeth. Osteotelans have a rich history over the course of over 400 million years. They first diverged from other kinetoramphidans in the Pragian period of the early Devonian, represented by a sudden explosion of diversity among predatory, omnivorous and benthic-feeding niches. Early osteotelans avoided competition with eurypterids due to their different habits, but soon became the dominant large predators among many reef and freshwater environments. For the rest of the Paleozoic, eurypterids remained as smaller pursuit predators in reefs and open seas, some even moving to bathypelagic habitats.

Along with the Mitrichthyes, the Osteotela were the dominant vertebrates for a great deal of Earth's history; unlike the Mitrichthyes, osteotelans eventually became widespread in terrestrial environments by the mid Carboniferous, and by the early Permian, they represented at least ninety-five percent of land vertebrates.


Characteristics[edit | edit source]

Osteotelans can be easily differentiated from their earlier cousins by their cranial and postcranial morphology. Compared to other, extinct kinetoramphidans, the degree of kinesis and flexibility allowed by their skulls was quite significant; the skulls of several basal osteotelans have been estimated with a flexibility range of 80°.