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Tetrapodomorpha
 
 
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Tetrapodomorpha is a clade
Clade

A clade is a term used in modern alpha taxonomy, the scientific classification of living and fossil organisms, to describe a monophyletic group, defined as a group consisting of a single common ancestor and all its descendants.The term "monophyletic group" is used in this article in the conventional sense of "an a...
 of vertebrate
Vertebrate

Vertebrates are members of the subphylum Vertebrata, chordates with Vertebras or Vertebral columns. The grouping sometimes includes the hagfish, which have no vertebrae, but are genetically quite closely related to lampreys, which do have vertebrae....
s, consisting of sarcopterygians
Sarcopterygii

Sarcopterygii - Crossopterygii is traditionally the class of fleshy-finned, lobe-finned fishes, consisting of lungfish, and coelacanths....
 with a number of features of tetrapod
Tetrapod

Tetrapods are vertebrate animals having four feet, legs or leglike appendages. Amphibians, reptiles, dinosaurs/birds, and mammals are all tetrapods, and even the limbless snakes are tetrapods by descent....
s. Primitive forms, like Tiktaalik
Tiktaalik

Tiktaalik is a genus of extinction Sarcopterygii fish from the late Devonian period, with many features akin to those of tetrapods . It is an example from several lines of ancient sarcopterygian fish developing adaptations to the oxygen-poor shallow-water habitats of its time, which led to the evolution of amphibians....
, have been referred to as "fishapods" by their discoverers, since they were half-fish half-tetrapods, at least in appearance.

Tetrapodomorpha contains the true tetrapod
Tetrapod

Tetrapods are vertebrate animals having four feet, legs or leglike appendages. Amphibians, reptiles, dinosaurs/birds, and mammals are all tetrapods, and even the limbless snakes are tetrapods by descent....
s and several groups of related lobe-finned fishes, collectively known as the osteolepiforms.

Among the characters defining the tetrapodomorphs are modifications to the fins, notably a humerus
Humerus

The humerus is a long bone in the arm or forelimb that runs from the shoulder to the elbow.Anatomically, it connects the scapula and the ulna, and consists of the following three sections:...
 with convex head articulating with the glenoid fossa (the socket of the shoulder
Shoulder

In human anatomy, the shoulder joint comprises the part of the body where the humerus attaches to the scapula. The shoulder refers to the group of structures in the region of the joint....
 joint).

Tetrapodomorph fossils are known from the early Devonian
Devonian

The Devonian is a geologic period of the Paleozoic era spanning from . It is named after Devon, England, where rocks from this period were first studied....
 onwards, and include Osteolepis
Osteolepis

Osteolepis is an extinct genus of coelacanthiformes lobe-finned fish from the Devonian period. It was about 20 cm long. It lived in the Orcadian Lakes of northern Scotland....
 and Panderichthys
Panderichthys

Panderichthys is a 90–130 cm long fish from the Devonian period 380 million years ago, of Latvia. It has a large tetrapod-like head. Panderichthys exhibits transitional fossil features between lobe-finned fishes and early tetrapods such as Acanthostega....
.








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Encyclopedia


Fishapods
Tetrapodomorpha is a clade
Clade

A clade is a term used in modern alpha taxonomy, the scientific classification of living and fossil organisms, to describe a monophyletic group, defined as a group consisting of a single common ancestor and all its descendants.The term "monophyletic group" is used in this article in the conventional sense of "an a...
 of vertebrate
Vertebrate

Vertebrates are members of the subphylum Vertebrata, chordates with Vertebras or Vertebral columns. The grouping sometimes includes the hagfish, which have no vertebrae, but are genetically quite closely related to lampreys, which do have vertebrae....
s, consisting of sarcopterygians
Sarcopterygii

Sarcopterygii - Crossopterygii is traditionally the class of fleshy-finned, lobe-finned fishes, consisting of lungfish, and coelacanths....
 with a number of features of tetrapod
Tetrapod

Tetrapods are vertebrate animals having four feet, legs or leglike appendages. Amphibians, reptiles, dinosaurs/birds, and mammals are all tetrapods, and even the limbless snakes are tetrapods by descent....
s. Primitive forms, like Tiktaalik
Tiktaalik

Tiktaalik is a genus of extinction Sarcopterygii fish from the late Devonian period, with many features akin to those of tetrapods . It is an example from several lines of ancient sarcopterygian fish developing adaptations to the oxygen-poor shallow-water habitats of its time, which led to the evolution of amphibians....
, have been referred to as "fishapods" by their discoverers, since they were half-fish half-tetrapods, at least in appearance.

Tetrapodomorpha contains the true tetrapod
Tetrapod

Tetrapods are vertebrate animals having four feet, legs or leglike appendages. Amphibians, reptiles, dinosaurs/birds, and mammals are all tetrapods, and even the limbless snakes are tetrapods by descent....
s and several groups of related lobe-finned fishes, collectively known as the osteolepiforms.

Among the characters defining the tetrapodomorphs are modifications to the fins, notably a humerus
Humerus

The humerus is a long bone in the arm or forelimb that runs from the shoulder to the elbow.Anatomically, it connects the scapula and the ulna, and consists of the following three sections:...
 with convex head articulating with the glenoid fossa (the socket of the shoulder
Shoulder

In human anatomy, the shoulder joint comprises the part of the body where the humerus attaches to the scapula. The shoulder refers to the group of structures in the region of the joint....
 joint).

Tetrapodomorph fossils are known from the early Devonian
Devonian

The Devonian is a geologic period of the Paleozoic era spanning from . It is named after Devon, England, where rocks from this period were first studied....
 onwards, and include Osteolepis
Osteolepis

Osteolepis is an extinct genus of coelacanthiformes lobe-finned fish from the Devonian period. It was about 20 cm long. It lived in the Orcadian Lakes of northern Scotland....
 and Panderichthys
Panderichthys

Panderichthys is a 90–130 cm long fish from the Devonian period 380 million years ago, of Latvia. It has a large tetrapod-like head. Panderichthys exhibits transitional fossil features between lobe-finned fishes and early tetrapods such as Acanthostega....
.

Taxonomy and phylogeny

  • Class Sarcopterygii
    Sarcopterygii

    Sarcopterygii - Crossopterygii is traditionally the class of fleshy-finned, lobe-finned fishes, consisting of lungfish, and coelacanths....
    • Subclass Tetrapodomorpha
      • Kenichthys
        Kenichthys

        Kenichthys was an ancient tetrapodomorph, a lineage that included tetrapods. It was one of the most primitive tetrapodomorphs. This specific genus is important because it contains a primitive choana on its upper lip, giving it a cleft palate-like structure....
      • Order Rhizodont
        Rhizodont

        Rhizodonts are an extinct group of predatory lobe-finned fishes. They are known from many areas of the world from the Givetian through to the Pennsylvanian - the earliest known species is about 377 Ma, the latest around 310 Ma....
        ida
      • Superorder Osteolepidida (or Osteolepiformes)
        • Family Osteolepidae
          Osteolepidae

          Osteolepidae is a family of prehistoric lobe-finned fishes which lived during the Devonian geological period....
          • Osteolepis
            Osteolepis

            Osteolepis is an extinct genus of coelacanthiformes lobe-finned fish from the Devonian period. It was about 20 cm long. It lived in the Orcadian Lakes of northern Scotland....
        • Family Tristichopteridae
          Tristichopteridae

          Tristichopterids , were a diverse and successful group of tetrapodomorph fishes throughout the Late Devonian stage. They first appeared in the Givetian epoch of the Middle Devonian stage....
          • Eusthenopteron
            Eusthenopteron

            Eusthenopteron is a genus of prehistoric lobe-finned fish which has attained an iconic status from its close relationships to tetrapods. Early depictions of this animal show it emerging onto land, however paleontologists now widely agree that it was a Pelagic zone animal....
        • Family Megalichthyidae
          Megalichthyidae

          Megalichthyidae is a family of prehistoric lobe-finned fishes which lived during the Carboniferous Geological period ....
          • Megalichthys
            Megalichthys

            Megalichthys is a genus of prehistoric lobe-finned fish which lived during the Carboniferous period. It is the type genus of the family Megalichthyidae....
        • Family Canowindridae
          Canowindridae

          Canowindridae is a family of prehistoric lobe-finned fishes which lived during the Devonian Geological period . Fossils of fishes that belonged to this family have been found in Australia, Antarctica and Europe....
        • (unranked) Elpistostegalia
          Elpistostegalia

          Elpistostegalia is a order of prehistoric lobe-finned fishes which lived during the Late Devonian Geological period ....
          • Order Panderichthyida
            Panderichthys

            Panderichthys is a 90–130 cm long fish from the Devonian period 380 million years ago, of Latvia. It has a large tetrapod-like head. Panderichthys exhibits transitional fossil features between lobe-finned fishes and early tetrapods such as Acanthostega....
          • Tiktaalik
            Tiktaalik

            Tiktaalik is a genus of extinction Sarcopterygii fish from the late Devonian period, with many features akin to those of tetrapods . It is an example from several lines of ancient sarcopterygian fish developing adaptations to the oxygen-poor shallow-water habitats of its time, which led to the evolution of amphibians....
          • Livoniana
            Livoniana

            Livoniana is a genus of prehistoric lobe-finned fish which lived during the Devonian geological period ....
          • Metaxygnathus
            Metaxygnathus

            Metaxygnathus is an extinct genus of tetrapodomorph found in Late Devonian deposits of New South Wales, Australia .It is only known from a lower jawbone....
          • Ventastega
            Ventastega

            Ventastega was a Tiktaalik-like tetrapodomorpha that lived during the Famennian subdivision of the Late Devonian period approximately 374.5 to 359.2 million years ago, though Ventastega origins as a tetrapod lineage are probably seated in the preceding Frasnian period of the Late Devonian when a surge of morphological diversification...
          • Superclass Tetrapoda
  • After Benton, 2004 :