Editing Placoderm (section)

====Antiarchi====
[[File:Bothriolepis_canadensis_(2024).png|thumb|''[[Bothriolepis canadensis]]'']]
[[Antiarchi]] ("opposite anus") were the second most successful order of placoderms known, after the [[Arthrodira]]. The order's name was coined by [[Edward Drinker Cope]], who, after incorrectly identifying the first fossils as being those of an armored [[tunicate]], mistakenly thought the [[Orbit (anatomy)|eye-hole]] was the mouth, and the opening for the anal siphon was on the other side of the body, as opposed to having both oral and anal siphons together at one end. The front portions of their bodies were heavily armoured, to the point of literally resembling a box with eyes, with the sometimes scaled, sometimes naked rear portions often becoming [[wiktionary:sinuous|sinuous]], particularly with later forms. The pair of [[pectoral fins]] were modified into a pair of [[caliper]]-like, or [[arthropod]]-like limbs. In primitive forms, such as ''[[Yunnanolepis]]'', the limbs were thick and short, while in advanced forms, such as ''[[Bothriolepis]]'', the limbs were long and had elbow-like joints. The function of the limbs is still not perfectly understood, but most hypothesize that they helped their owners pull themselves across the substrate, as well as allowing their owners to bury themselves into the substrate.{{ctn|date=August 2013}}