Main Entry: cros·sop·ter·yg·ian

Pronunciation: \ˌkrȯ-ˌsäp-tə-ˈri-j(ē-)ən\

Function: noun

Etymology: New Latin Crossopterygii, subclass name, from Greek krossoi fringe + pterygion, diminutive of pteryg-, pteryx wing, fin; akin to Greek pteron wing — more at feather

Date: 1861

: any of a subclass (Crossopterygii) of bony fishes (as a coelacanth) that have paired fins suggesting limbs, that may be ancestral to the terrestrial vertebrates, and that are mostly extinct —called also lobe-fin

— crossopterygian adjective