Osteolepidida

Osteolepidida Temporal range: 396–299 Ma PreЄ Є 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 †Elpistostegidae †Megalichthyidae †Osteolepidae †Thysanolepidae †Tristichopteridae

Osteolepidida are a group of prehistoric lobe-finned fishes which appears first time during the Devonian period. The order contains six families: Canowindridae, Elpistostegidae, 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]

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.
2. Swartz, B. (2012). "A marine stem-tetrapod from the Devonian of Western North America". PLoS ONE. 7 (3): e33683. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0033683. PMC 3308997. PMID 22448265.

External links

• Tree of Life