Fossils index

Bony fish

Bony fish have skeletons of bone rather than cartilage. They live in the sea.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclass: Osteichthyes
 Bony fish have a skeleton made of bone, like us. Bones are hard and so are more likely to be fossilised.

The fish called Knightia is the state fossil of Wyoming, USA.

Fish vertebrae


Timescale: Bony fish have been around for a long time, about 430 million years ago, and are still alive today.



A complete fish. This is Knightia alta, from the Cenozoic (Eocene Period) or 56 million years ago. It is from Colorado, USA. Size of fish: 34mm Fish vertebrae


This is a scale from a Lepidotes, from the Cretaceous period. It comes from south of Taouz, Morocco. This type of fish is now extinct. The photos show top and bottom. Size: 37mm

Fish vertebrae Fish vertebrae



A collection of fish vertebrae (backbones). Sizes: 2mm-10mm
Fish vertebrae

© Jo Edkins 2007 - Return to Fossils index