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Eotetrapodiforms
Eotetrapodiformes is a clade of tetrapodomorphs including the four-limbed vertebrates ("tetrapods" in the traditional sense) and their closest finned relatives, two groups of stem tetrapods called tristichopterids and elpistostegalids. The clade was named in 2010 by Michael I. Coates and Matt Friedman, and is defined as "the node-based clade arising from the most recent common ancestor of ''Eusthenopteron'' and ''Ichthyostega'' plus all of its descendants". It thus excludes the basalmost tetrapodomorphs, such as the rhizodonts and megalichthyiform Megalichthyiformes is an extinct clade of basal tetrapodomorphs which first appeared during the Devonian period. It was named in 2010 by Michael I. Coates and Matt Friedman, who defined it as a stem-based taxon containing all tetrapodomorphs clo ...s. Cladogram from Swartz, 2012: References Extant Devonian first appearances Evolution of tetrapods {{Lobefinned-fish-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Platycephalichthys
''Platycephalichthys'' is a genus of tristichopterid lobe-finned fish which lived during the middle Devonian, upper Givetian stage. Phylogeny Below is a cladogram A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to ... from Swartz, 2012: See also * References Prehistoric lobe-finned fish genera Eotetrapodiforms Devonian bony fish {{paleo-lobefinned-fish-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Platycephalichthys Bischoffi
''Platycephalichthys'' is a genus of tristichopterid lobe-finned fish which lived during the middle Devonian, upper Givetian stage. Phylogeny Below is a cladogram A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to d ... from Swartz, 2012: See also * References Prehistoric lobe-finned fish genera Eotetrapodiforms Devonian bony fish {{paleo-lobefinned-fish-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tinirau Clackae
''Tinirau'' is an extinct genus of sarcopterygian fish from the Middle Devonian of Nevada. Although it spent its entire life in the ocean, ''Tinirau'' is a stem tetrapod close to the ancestry of land-living vertebrates in the crown group Tetrapoda. Relative to more well-known stem tetrapods, ''Tinirau'' is more closely related to Tetrapoda than is ''Eusthenopteron'', but farther from Tetrapoda than is ''Panderichthys''. The type and only species of ''Tinirau'' is ''T. clackae'', named in 2012. Description ''Tinirau'' was a fairly large, predatory fish about a meter long and with a deep, compact body. The head was large, with large terminal mout and numerous teeth. The tail was heterocercal, but the remaining fins with the exception of the pectoral fins was situated behind the middle of the body similar to the situation seen in pikes, giving the animal a large tail surface suitable for great bursts of speed. It shares many advanced features with later tetrapodomorphs in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Megalichthyiformes
Megalichthyiformes is an extinct clade of basal tetrapodomorphs which first appeared during the Devonian period. It was named in 2010 by Michael I. Coates and Matt Friedman, who defined it as a stem-based taxon containing all tetrapodomorphs closer to ''Megalichthys'' than to ''Eusthenopteron''. Below is a cladogram A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to d ... showing Megalichthyiformes modified from Swartz (2012). References {{Taxonbar, from=Q19833404 Devonian bony fish Carboniferous bony fish Permian bony fish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ventastega Life Restoration White Background
''Ventastega'' (''Venta'' referring to the Venta River at the Ketleri Formation where ''Ventastega'' was discovered) is an extinct genus of stem tetrapod that lived during the Upper Fammenian of the Late Devonian, approximately 372.2 to 358.9 million years ago. Only one species is known that belongs in the genus, ''Ventastega curonica,'' which was described in 1996 after fossils were discovered in 1933 and mistakenly associated with a fish called ''Polyplocodus wenjukovi''. ‘Curonica’ in the species name refers to Curonia, the Latin name for Kurzeme, a region in western Latvia. ''Ventastega curonica'' was discovered in two localities in Latvia, and was the first stem tetrapod described in Latvia along with being only the 4th Devonian tetrapodomorph known at the time of description. Based on the morphology of both cranial and post-cranial elements discovered (see below), ''Ventastega'' is more primitive than other Devonian tetrapodomorphs including '' Acanthostega'' and ''Ich ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elginerpeton BW
''Elginerpeton'' is a genus of stegocephalian (stem-tetrapod), the fossils of which were recovered from Scat Craig, Morayshire in the UK, from rocks dating to the late Devonian Period (Early Famennian stage, 368 million years ago). The only known fossil has been given the name ''Elginerpeton pancheni''. ''Elginerpeton'' is known from skeletal fragments including a partial shoulder and hip, a femur, tibia (lower hind limb), and jaw fragments. The holotype is a lower jaw fragment estimated at 40 centimeters in total length. The total body is estimated to have measured about 1.5 m (5 ft) in length. Upon its description, ''Elginerpeton'' was allied with ''Obruchevichthys'' in the family Elginerpetontidae. A biomechanical analysis of stegocephalian jaws has indicated that ''Elginerpeton'' had an unusual feeding habit among tetrapod relatives. Its jaws were thin, and plotted as the most susceptible to high stresses among the sample group. However, the heavy sculpturing of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elginerpeton
''Elginerpeton'' is a genus of stegocephalian (stem-tetrapod), the fossils of which were recovered from Scat Craig, Morayshire in the UK, from rocks dating to the late Devonian Period (Early Famennian stage, 368 million years ago). The only known fossil has been given the name ''Elginerpeton pancheni''. ''Elginerpeton'' is known from skeletal fragments including a partial shoulder and hip, a femur, tibia (lower hind limb), and jaw fragments. The holotype is a lower jaw fragment estimated at 40 centimeters in total length. The total body is estimated to have measured about 1.5 m (5 ft) in length. Upon its description, ''Elginerpeton'' was allied with ''Obruchevichthys'' in the family Elginerpetontidae. A biomechanical analysis of stegocephalian jaws has indicated that ''Elginerpeton'' had an unusual feeding habit among tetrapod relatives. Its jaws were thin, and plotted as the most susceptible to high stresses among the sample group. However, the heavy sculpturing of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elpistostege
''Elpistostege'' is an extinct genus of finned tetrapodomorphs that lived during the late Givetian to early Frasnian ages of the Late Devonian epoch. Its only known species, ''E. watsoni'', was first described in 1938 by the British palaeontologist Thomas Stanley Westoll, based on a single partial skull roof discovered at the Escuminac Formation in Quebec, Canada. In 2010, a complete specimen was found in the same formation, which was described by Richard Cloutier and colleagues in 2020. It reveals that the paired fins of ''Elpistostege'' contained bones homologous to the phalanges (digit bones) of modern tetrapods; it is the most basal tetrapodomorph known to possess these bones. At the same time, the fins were covered in scales and lepidotrichia (fin rays), which indicates that the origin of phalanges preceded the loss of fin rays, rather than the other way around. Relationships An analysis conducted by Swartz in 2012 found ''Elpistostege'' to be the sister taxon of ''Tikta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tiktaalik BW
''Tiktaalik'' (; Inuktitut ) is a monospecific genus of extinct sarcopterygian (lobe-finned fish) from the Late Devonian Period, about 375 Mya (million years ago), having many features akin to those of tetrapods (four-legged animals). It may have grown up to in length. Unearthed in Arctic Canada, ''Tiktaalik'' is a non-tetrapod member of Osteichthyes (bony fish), complete with scales and gills – but it has a triangular, flattened head and unusual, cleaver-shaped fins. Its fins have thin ray bones for paddling like most fish, but they also have sturdy interior bones that would have allowed Tiktaalik to prop itself up in shallow water and use its limbs for support as most four-legged animals do. Those fins and other mixed characteristics mark ''Tiktaalik'' as a crucial transition fossil, a link in evolution from swimming fish to four-legged vertebrates. This and similar animals might be the common ancestors of all vertebrate terrestrial fauna: amphibians, reptiles, birds, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panderichthys BW
''Panderichthys'' is a genus of extinct sarcopterygian (lobe-finned fish) from the late Devonian period, about 380 Mya. ''Panderichthys'', which was recovered from Frasnian (early Late Devonian) deposits in Latvia, is represented by two species. ''P. stolbovi'' is known only from some snout fragments and an incomplete lower jaw. ''P. rhombolepis'' is known from several more complete specimens. Although it probably belongs to a sister group of the earliest tetrapods, ''Panderichthys'' exhibits a range of features transitional between tristichopterid lobe-fin fishes (e.g., ''Eusthenopteron'') and early tetrapods. It is named after the German-Baltic paleontologist Christian Heinrich Pander. Possible tetrapod tracks dating back to before the appearance of ''Panderichthys'' in the fossil record were reported in 2010, which suggests that ''Panderichthys'' is not a direct ancestor of tetrapods, but nonetheless shows the traits that evolved during the fish-tetrapod evolution Discover ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
