The small, three toed feet were evidently adapted for locomotion over soft, perhaps marshy, ground, and its backbone was more flexible than that of modern horses. Metaldetes Metaldetes was an archaeocyathid, a small marine animal akin to the sponges. They are characterized by a hard outer skeleton ranging up to 60 centimeters in diameter, although most are no more than 2 centimeters across. They had a cup like shape and grew up to 100 millimeters long. The skeleton consists of an inner and outer wall connected by partitions.
Numerous pores penetrate the walls of the skeleton.
They lived in warm, shallow marine environments on all continents. Filter feeders, they extracted food from the water as it passed through their pores. They are well known fossils in the Soviet Union, Australia, and western North America. In some places they are so abundant they form reef-like masses. Mioplosus Darters, perch, and pike-perch are all members of the Perch family present in Alberta.