Cheirolepis

One of the oldest ray-finned fishes, Cheirolepis trailli was a predator from the Devonian. Species of the genus are known from Europe and North America.

Its eyes were big and had ample horizontal mobility thanks to long muscles, suggesting that this hunter relied heavily on vision. It had numerous sharp teeth and a large mouth opening due an elaborate cranial kinesis, which could have allowed the capture of prey up to 2/3 its own size. Its main food must have been the then abundant acanthodians.

The model is in grayscale at the client's request, so he could apply the painting and glass eyes on the piece.

Cold porcelain, scale 1:1.