A group or class of extinct fish that had spiny fins and primitive jaws, representing early evolutionary relatives of modern fish.
Derived from Greek 'akantha' (spine) + '-odea' (a taxonomic suffix), literally meaning 'spine-like beings,' referring to their characteristic spiny features.
Acanthodeans were like evolution's first draft of sharks—they had spines and lived millions of years before modern sharks evolved, making them some of the ocean's earliest fearsome predators.
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