''Metaxygnathus'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

ichthyostegalia Ichthyostegalia is an order of extinct amphibians, representing the earliest landliving vertebrates. The group is thus an evolutionary grade rather than a clade. While the group are recognized as having feet rather than fins, most, if not all, ...

n found in Late

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...

deposits of New South Wales,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is known only from a lower jawbone. Previously thought to be a

lobe-finned fish Sarcopterygii (; ) — sometimes considered synonymous with Crossopterygii () — is a taxon (traditionally a class or subclass) of the bony fishes known as the lobe-finned fishes. The group Tetrapoda, a mostly terrestrial superclass includ ...

, it has now been reassigned to the earliest group of

tetrapod Tetrapods (; ) are four-limbed vertebrate animals constituting the superclass Tetrapoda (). It includes extant and extinct amphibians, sauropsids ( reptiles, including dinosaurs and therefore birds) and synapsids (pelycosaurs, extinct theraps ...

References

*Campbell, K.S.W. and M.W. Bell. 1977. "A primitive amphibian from the Late Devonian of New South Wales." Alcheringa 1: 369–382.

External links

''Metaxygnathus denticulatus''
at Devonian Times Ichthyostegalia Prehistoric amphibians of Australia Paleozoic vertebrates of Oceania Paleozoic animals of Australia Late Devonian animals Devonian Oceania Fossil taxa described in 1977 Prehistoric tetrapod genera Fauna of New South Wales {{Labyrinthodontia-stub