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Some relatives of the flattacanth. www.reddit.com/r/SpeculativeEv…

The remarkably successful flattacanths know many shapes and sizes and inhabit almost every habitat from the deep-sea to rivers far inland. Here I illustrated just a few forms that differ a lot from each other to show their diversity.
For now these fish are nameless because I suck at names.

1) Basal generalistic bottom dwelling flattacanth, it "walks" over the bottom with its dorsal and anal fin, while using its pectoral and pelvic fins to steer.

2) Free swimming form, filling a niche similar to a small shark. It swims with alternating strokes of the pectoral, pelvic, dorsal and anal fins.

3) Specialized form for feeding on invertebrates like worms. If it moves at all, it will use its tail for propulsion and will hop with its dorsal and anal fins.

4) A small bottom feeder, it "crawls" with only the pectoral and pelvic fins on the lower side of the body as well as the dorsal and anal fins. For swimming, only the tail is used.

5) A large mouthed ambush predator, it eat anything it can catch with its long teeth. It "walks" and swims with its pectoral and pelvic fins.

6) A very basal form, its eye has not yet fully migrated across the face, causing some trouble with determining the size of things, like this tadsorpion that is way to large to swallow. It swims mostly with the tail, using the fins for steering.

7) A primitive flattacanth, it just lies on the bottom waiting, only moving when it absolutely has to with the tail because the fins are heavily reduced.

8) A very derived form, its eyes have completely migrated across the face and its mandible and upper jaw match each other in terms of opening, allowing for more efficient feeding. It "walks" on the bottom with its pectoral, pelvic, dorsal and anal fins, only using the tail as a last resort.

Skull in the bottom is of a very generalized basal form.

Description
Some relatives of the flattacanth. www.reddit.com/r/SpeculativeEv…

The remarkably successful flattacanths know many shapes and sizes and inhabit almost every habitat from the deep-sea to rivers far inland. Here I illustrated just a few forms that differ a lot from each other to show their diversity.
For now these fish are nameless because I suck at names.

1) Basal generalistic bottom dwelling flattacanth, it "walks" over the bottom with its dorsal and anal fin, while using its pectoral and pelvic fins to steer.

2) Free swimming form, filling a niche similar to a small shark. It swims with alternating strokes of the pectoral, pelvic, dorsal and anal fins.

3) Specialized form for feeding on invertebrates like worms. If it moves at all, it will use its tail for propulsion and will hop with its dorsal and anal fins.

4) A small bottom feeder, it "crawls" with only the pectoral and pelvic fins on the lower side of the body as well as the dorsal and anal fins. For swimming, only the tail is used.

5) A large mouthed ambush predator, it eat anything it can catch with its long teeth. It "walks" and swims with its pectoral and pelvic fins.

6) A very basal form, its eye has not yet fully migrated across the face, causing some trouble with determining the size of things, like this tadsorpion that is way to large to swallow. It swims mostly with the tail, using the fins for steering.

7) A primitive flattacanth, it just lies on the bottom waiting, only moving when it absolutely has to with the tail because the fins are heavily reduced.

8) A very derived form, its eyes have completely migrated across the face and its mandible and upper jaw match each other in terms of opening, allowing for more efficient feeding. It "walks" on the bottom with its pectoral, pelvic, dorsal and anal fins, only using the tail as a last resort.

Skull in the bottom is of a very generalized basal form.