Ligulalepis

Ligulalepis
Temporal range: Ludlow–Emsian
Skull of Ligulalepis toombsi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Superclass: Osteichthyes
Genus: †Ligulalepis
Schultze 1968
Type species
†Ligulalepis toombsi
Schultze 1968
Species
  • †L. sinensis Burrow, Turner & Wang 2009
  • †L. toombsi Schultze 1968
  • †L. yunnanensis Wang & Dong 1989
Life restoration of L. toombsi

Ligulalepis is an extinct genus of stem-osteichthyans which lived from the Silurian to the Early Devonian.[1] Ligulalepis was first described from isolated scales found in the Taemas-Wee jasper limestones of New South Wales (Emsian age) by Hans-Peter Schultze (1968)[2] and further material described by Burrow (1994).[3] A nearly complete skull found in the same general location was described in Nature by Basden et al. (2000) claiming the genus was closely related to basal ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii).[4] In 2015 Flinders University student Benedict King found a more complete new skull of this genus which was formally described by Clement et al. (2018), showing Ligulalepis to be on the stem of all osteichthyans.[5]

  1. ^ Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
  2. ^ Schultze, Hans-Peter (1968). "Palæoniscoidea-Schuppen aus dem Unterdevon Australiens und Kanadas und aus dem Mitteldevon Spitzbergens". Bulletin of the British Museum. 16: 343–368.
  3. ^ Burrow, Carole J. (1994). "Form and function in scales of Ligulalepis toombsi Schultze, a palaeoniscoid from the Early Devonian of Australia". Records of the South Australian Museum. 27 (2): 175–185.
  4. ^ Basden, Alison M.; Young, Gavin C.; Coates, Michael I.; Ritchie, Alex (January 2000). "The most primitive osteichthyan braincase?". Nature. 403 (6766): 185–188. Bibcode:2000Natur.403..185B. doi:10.1038/35003183. PMID 10646601. S2CID 4362712.
  5. ^ Clement, Alice M; King, Benedict; Giles, Sam; Choo, Brian; Ahlberg, Per E; Young, Gavin C; Long, John A (29 May 2018). "Neurocranial anatomy of an enigmatic Early Devonian fish sheds light on early osteichthyan evolution". eLife. 7. doi:10.7554/eLife.34349. PMC 5973833. PMID 29807569.