A genus of extinct armored fish from the Devonian period, characterized by bony plates and primitive jaws.
From Greek 'bothros' (pit or groove) plus 'lepis' (scale or plate). The name references the grooved bony plates that covered these fish's bodies.
Bothriolepis is a 'living fossil' in the fossil record—these fish appeared over 400 million years ago during the 'Age of Fishes' and barely changed for millions of years, showing how successful their body design was.
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