Dipnorhynchus
Temporal range: Early to Late Devonian
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Sarcopterygii
Class: Dipnoi
Family: †Dipnorhynchidae
Genus: †Dipnorhynchus
Jaekel, 1927

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]

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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