Osteolepidida

Osteolepidida, also known as osteolepiformes,[1] are a group of prehistoric lobe-finned fishes which appeared first time during the Devonian period. The order contains five families: Canowindridae, Megalichthyidae, Osteolepidae, Thysanolepidae and Tristichopteridae. The superorder is generally considered to be paraphyletic because the characters that define it are mainly attributes of stem tetrapodomorphs.[1]

See also: Osteolepiformes

Osteolepidida Temporal range: 396–299 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Middle Devonian to Late Carboniferous
Osteolepis.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Sarcopterygii
Subclass:	Tetrapodomorpha
Superorder:	Osteolepidida*
Clades
†Canowindridae †Thysanolepidae †Tristichopteridae †Megalichthyiformes †Megalichthyidae †Osteolepidae

Below is a cladogram showing the paraphyly of Osteolepiformes compiled and modified from Ahlberg and Johanson (1998).[1] See also Swartz 2012.[2] The Osteolepiformes are marked by the green bracket.

Tetrapodomorpha   Kenichthys     Rhizodontida   Barameda     Gooloogongia           Gogonasus     Osteolepis             Megalichthys     Cladarosymblema       Ectosteorhachis         Medoevia           Koharolepis     Canowindra       Beelarongia         Gyroptychius     Tristichopteridae           Eusthenodon     Mandageria       Cabonnichthys       Platycephalichthys       Jarvikina       Eusthenopteron     Tristichopterus         Panderichthys   Tetrapoda   Acanthostega     Ichthyostega

Osteolepidida

References

1. Ahlberg, P. E.; Johanson, Z. (1998). "Osteolepiforms and the ancestry of tetrapods" (PDF). Nature. 395 (6704): 792–794. Bibcode:1998Natur.395..792A. doi:10.1038/27421. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-11-24. Retrieved 2013-11-25.
2. Swartz, B. (2012). "A marine stem-tetrapod from the Devonian of Western North America". PLoS ONE. 7 (3): e33683. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...733683S. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0033683. PMC 3308997. PMID 22448265.

External links

• Tree of Life