Acanthostega
| Acanthostega Temporal range: Late Devonian (Famennian), | |
|---|---|
| Skeletal reconstruction | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Sarcopterygii |
| Clade: | Tetrapodomorpha |
| Clade: | Stegocephali |
| Family: | †Acanthostegidae Jarvik, 1952 |
| Genus: | †Acanthostega Jarvik, 1952 |
| Species: | †A. gunnari |
| Binomial name | |
| †Acanthostega gunnari Jarvik, 1952 | |
Acanthostega, from Ancient Greek ἄκανθα (ákantha), meaning "spine", and στέγη (stégē), meaning "roof", is an extinct genus of stem-tetrapod, among the first vertebrate animals to have recognizable limbs. It appeared in the late Devonian period (Famennian age) about 365 million years ago, and was anatomically intermediate between lobe-finned fishes and those that were able to come onto land.