The First Stem Tetrapod from the Lower Carboniferous of Gondwana |
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Authors: | Anne Warren & Susan Turner |
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Institution: | Department of Zoology, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia;Queensland Museum, Queensland, Australia |
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Abstract: | The first stem tetrapod from Gondwana, Ossinodus pueri gen. et sp. nov, is described from fragmentary material that includes a skull table and many important parts from the postcranial skeleton. It was recovered together with a typically non-marine to marginal (near) marine fish fauna from the Lower Carboniferous (mid Viséan) Ducabrook Formation, Queensland, Australia. Phylogenetic analysis hypothesises that Ossinodus belonged to a clade that includes Whatcheeria and Pederpes , positioned on the stem of the crown tetrapods, one step crownward of Tulerpeton . Hind limb morphology suggests that small specimens of Ossinodus were primarily aquatic but that larger ones were less so. |
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Keywords: | stem tetrapod Lower Carboniferous Gondwana Australia phylogeny terrestrialisation Whatcheeriidae |
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