Dipnorhynchus

Dipnorhynchus
Dipnorhynchus
Temporal range: Early to Late Devonian
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Sarcopterygii
Subclass: Dipnoi
Order: Dipteriformes
Family: Dipnorhynchidae
Genus: Dipnorhynchus

Dipnorhynchus is an extinct genus of lungfish from the middle Devonian period of Australia and Europe.

Dipnorhynchus was a primitive lungfish, but still it had features that set it apart from other sarcopterygians. Its skull lacked the joint that divided the skull in two in rhipidists and coelacanths. Instead, it was a solid bony structure similar to that of the first tetrapods. Instead of cheek teeth, Dipnorhynchus had tooth-like plates on the palate and lower jaw. Also like land vertebrates, the palate was fused with the brain case. It was relatively large for a lungfish, measuring 90 centimetres (3 ft) in length.[1]

It appeared along with other Devonian fish in the 2008 Hayao Miyazaki film Ponyo.

References

  1. ^ Palmer, D., ed (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 45. ISBN 1-84028-152-9. 
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