Bothriolepis canadensis

Bothriolepis canadensis scoured ancient riverbeds and estuarine floors during the Late Devonian, using heavily armored, jointed pectoral appendages to pull itself across the mud. Its head and thorax were encased in a rigid box of interlocking bony plates, leaving only a soft, scaleless tail exposed for propulsion. Thousands of exceptionally preserved fossils from Quebec reveal complex internal spiral gut traces, showing how efficiently it processed nutrient-rich benthic sediment.