CLIMATIUS

genus of extinct, primitive jawed vertebrates common as fossils in Devonian rocks in Europe and North America (the Devonian period began 408 million years ago and ended about 360 million years ago). Climatius is representative of the acanthodians, spiny sharks characterized by diamond-shaped scalesgenerally of small sizeand fins that possessed a strong bony spine at their leading edges. Climatius had two dorsal fins and numerous paired ventral fins, each with a supporting spine.