The braincase of a Devonian lungfish

[Halichoeres]

This paper describes the endocast of the braincase, showing the brain anatomy and routes of the roots of the cranial nerves. They suggest that this particular species Chirodipterus australis, is more primitive than at first supposed, and probably belongs in a different genus than other Chirodipterus species.



Open access: https://peerj.com/articles/5148/

[Lizerd]

Cool post! Have some questions, where was it found, an estimation of time, who found it, and any possible analysis on its evolution and taxonomy. Or just send me a link to the article 

[Halichoeres]

It's from the Gogo formation, a reef environment of the Upper Devonian in Western Australia.

Here is their phylogenetic analysis:


'Chirodipterus australis' is the one examined here, but in their analysis the type species is closer to advanced lungfishes than to this specimen, which is why they put it in quotes, suggesting it needs a new name reflecting that it isn't so very closely related to Chirodipterus.

If you have other questions, the article is open access here:

https://peerj.com/articles/5148/

[Lizerd]

Thanks! That is really, really, really awesome article and discovery!