Tristichopterus

Tristichopterus
Temporal range: Devonian
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Sarcopterygii
Clade: Tetrapodomorpha
Clade: Eotetrapodiformes
Family: †Tristichopteridae
Genus: †Tristichopterus
Egerton, 1861
Species:
†T. alatus
Binomial name
†Tristichopterus alatus
Egerton, 1861

Tristichopterus, with a maximum length of sixty centimetres, is the smallest genus in the family of prehistoric lobe-finned fish,[1] Tristichopteridae that was believed to have originated in the north and dispersed throughout the course of the Upper Devonian into Gondwana.[2] Tristichopterus currently has only one named species, first described by Egerton in 1861.[3] The Tristichopterus node is thought to have originated during the Givetian part of the Devonian.[4] Tristichopterus was thought by Egerton to be unique for its time period as a fish with ossified vertebral centers, breaking the persistent notochord rule of most Devonian fish[5] but this was later reinspected and shown to be only partial ossification by Dr. R. H. Traquair[6].  Tristichopterus alatus closely resembles Eusthenopteron and this sparked some debate after its discovery as to whether it was a separate taxon.[3]

  1. ^ Bishop, P.J. 2012. A second species of Tristichopterus (Sarcopterygii: Tristichopteridae), from the Upper Devonian of the Baltic Region. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum – Nature 56(2): 305-309. Brisbane. ISSN 0079-8835. Accepted: 14 November 2012.
  2. ^ Per E. Ahlberg & Zerina Johanson. 1997. Second tristichopterid (Sarcopterygii, Osteolepiformes) from the Upper Devonian of Canowindra, New South Wales, Australia, and phylogeny of the Tristichopteridae. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 17:4: 653-673.
  3. ^ a b Traquair, R. 1875. On the Structure and Affinities of Tristichopterus alatus, Egerton. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 27: 383-396.
  4. ^ Parfitt, Matthew & Johanson, Zerina & Giles, Sam & Friedman, Matt. 2014. A large, anatomically primitive tristichopterid (Sarcopterygii: Tetrapodomorpha) from the Late Devonian (Frasnian) Alves Beds, Upper Old Red Sandstone, Moray, Scotland. Scottish Journal of Geology. 50. 79-85. 10.1144/sjg2013-013.
  5. ^ Whiteaves, J. 1883. Recent Discoveries of Fossil Fishes in the Devonian Rocks of Canada. The American Naturalist Vol 17 No. 2: 158-164.
  6. ^ Traquair, R. 1890. Notes on the Devonian Fishes of Soaumenao Bay and Campbelltown in Canada. Geological Magazine: 7: 15-22.