Glyptolepis was a predatory fish that averaged 60 cm in length (Dineley and Metcalf, 1999). It had an asymmetrical tail fin, with the upper lobe larger than the lower lobe, and two, narrow dorsal fins toward the back of the body, pointed distally (Frickhinger, 1995). The bones of the paired pectoral and pelvic fins are arranged in a pattern similar to that of land vertebrates, as is typical of lobe-finned fishes. Glyptolepis had large, circular scales with dentine (Dineley and Metcalf, 1999). Its jaws had two rows of teeth (Dineley and Metcalf, 1999). Fossils of this genus have been found only in Devonian sediments, in both marine and freshwater deposits, in northern Scotland, Belarus, Belgium, Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Poland, and Russia (Paleobiology Database, n.d.). This specimen came from Scotland.

References:

Dineley, D.L. and Metcalf, S.J. (1999) Fossil Fishes of Great Britain. Peterborough: Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Ch. 6.

Frickhinger, K.A. (1995) Fossil Atlas, fishes Karl Albert Frickhinger. transl. by R. P. S. Jefferies. Blacksburg, VA: Mergus, Publ. for Natural History and Pet Books Baensch Tetra Press. p. 965.

Paleobiology Database (no date) Glyptolepis, The Paleobiology Database. Available at: https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicTaxonInfo?taxon_no=34920 (Accessed: August 2024).