Abstract
The discovery of two Early Devonian osteichthyan (bony fish) fossils has challenged established ideas about the origin of osteichthyans and their divergence into actinopterygians (teleosts and their relatives) and sarcopterygians (tetrapods, coelacanths, lungfishes and related groups). Psarolepis from China and an unnamed braincase from Australia combine derived sarcopterygian and actinopterygian characters with primitive features previously restricted to non-osteichthyans, suggesting that early osteichthyan evolution may have involved substantial parallellism between sarcopterygians and actinopterygians. But interpretation of these fossils has been hampered by poor phylogenetic resolution. Here we describe a basal sarcopterygian fish, Achoania gen, et sp. nov., that fills the morphological gap between Psarolepis and higher sarcoptergyians. We also report the presence of eyestalk attachments in both Achoania and Psarolepis, showing that this supposedly non-osteichthyan feature occurs in basal sarcopterygians as well as the actinoptergyian-like Australian braincase.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.