Arthrodira
| Arthrodira Temporal range: Devonian, | |
|---|---|
| Modern reconstruction of the arthrodire placoderm Dunkleosteus terrelli | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Infraphylum: | Gnathostomata |
| Class: | †Placodermi |
| Order: | †Arthrodira Woodward, 1891 |
| Subgroups | |
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Arthrodira (Greek for "jointed neck") is an order of extinct armored, jawed fishes of the class Placodermi that flourished in the Devonian period before their sudden extinction, surviving for about 50 million years and penetrating most marine ecological niches. Arthrodires were the largest and most diverse of all groups of placoderms.