| 1. |
- Ahlberg, Per Erik, 1963-, et al.
(författare)
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Pelvic claspers confirm chondrichthyan-like internal fertilization in arthrodires
- 2009
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 460:7257, s. 888-889
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent finds(1,2) demonstrate that internal fertilization and viviparity (live birth) were more widespread in the Placodermi, an extinct group of armoured fishes, than was previously realized. Placoderms represent the sister group of the crown group jawed vertebrates (Gnathostomata)(3,4), making their mode(s) of reproduction potentially informative about primitive gnathostome conditions. An ossified pelvic fin basipterygium discovered in the arthrodire Incisoscutum ritchiei was hypothesized to be identical in males and females, with males presumed to have an additional cartilaginous element or series forming a clasper. Here we report the discovery of a completely ossified pelvic clasper in Incisoscutum ritchiei (WAM 03.3.28) which shows that this interpretation was incorrect: the basipterygium described previously(1) is in fact unique to females. The male clasper is a slender rod attached to a square basal plate that articulates directly with the pelvis. It carries a small cap of dermal bone covered in denticles and small hooks that may be homologous with the much larger dermal component of the ptyctodont clasper.
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| 2. |
- Johanson, Zerina, et al.
(författare)
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First record of Porolepis (Sarcopterygii; Porolepiformes) from eastern Gondwana
- 2013
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Ingår i: Canadian journal of earth sciences (Print). - : Canadian Science Publishing. - 0008-4077 .- 1480-3313. ; 50:3, s. 249-253
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Porolepiformes (Sarcopterygii) are poorly represented in the Devonian of Australia and eastern Gondwana as a whole. New cosmine-covered lower jaws from the Mulga Downs Group, western New South Wales (?Pragian-Emsian or Eifelian), represent the first occurrence of Porolepis in Australia, a genus formerly known exclusively from the Northern Hemisphere. This material is assigned to the new species Porolepis foxi. The wide distribution of Porolepis, demonstrated by its occurrence in New South Wales, Europe, and Spitsbergen, contrasts with the generally high endemicity of the faunas in which it is present.
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| 3. |
- Long, John A., et al.
(författare)
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Copulation in antiarch placoderms and the origin of gnathostome internal fertilization
- 2015
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 517:7533, s. 196-199
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Reproduction in jawed vertebrates (gnathostomes) involves either external or internal fertilization. It is commonly argued that internal fertilization can evolve from external, but not the reverse. Male copulatoryclaspers are present in certain placoderms, fossil jawed vertebrates retrieved as a paraphyletic segment of the gnathostome stem group in recent studies. This suggests that internal fertilization could be primitive for gnathostomes, but such a conclusion depends on demonstrating that copulation was not just a specialized feature of certain placoderm subgroups. The reproductive biology of antiarchs, consistently identified as the least crownward placoderms and thus of great interest in this context, has until now remained unknown. Here we show that certain antiarchs possessed dermal claspers in the males, while females bore paired dermal plates inferred to have facilitated copulation. These structures are not associated with pelvic fins. The clasper morphology resembles that of ptyctodonts, a more crownward placoderm group, suggesting that all placoderm claspers are homologous and that internal fertilization characterized all placoderms. This implies that external fertilization and spawning, which characterize most extant aquatic gnathostomes, must be derived from internal fertilization, even though this transformation has been thought implausible. Alternatively, the substantial morphological evidence for placoderm paraphyly must be rejected.
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| 4. |
- Snitting, Daniel, 1977-
(författare)
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Morphology, Taxonomy and Interrelationships of Tristichopterid Fishes (Sarcopterygii, Tetrapodomorpha)
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Tristichopterids (Sarcopterygii, Tetrapodomorpha) form a monophyletic group of exclusively Devonian fishes. This thesis consists of descriptions of new material of tristichopterids and closely related taxa, as well as new interpretations and descriptions of previously figured material. Redescribed specimens were originally figured as far back as 1861, and publications as old as this are almost always of limited use as anatomical and systematical references, in addition to being difficult to acquire. The possibility of using new techniques and new theoretical frameworks also provides good justification for taking a second look at such specimens. In the case of this thesis, this includes the use of computed tomography scanning methods, and the cladistic approach to describing the interrelationships of taxa. The thesis includes a complete taxonomy of valid tristichopterid taxa, in addition to two new phylogenetic analyses incorporating the taxa that were described or redescribed. One of the analyses deals with the interrelationships of taxa along the entire tetrapod stem, and establishes the monophyly of the Tristichopteridae. The other analysis focuses on tristichopterid interrelationships. An account is given of evolutionary trends within Tristichopteridae, and instances of parallel evolution between tristichopterids and other tetrapodomorph groups are discussed. The biogeographical implications of tristichopterid occurences world-wide seem to corroborate the picture provided by other vertebrate groups, and give further support to one of two main hypotheses concerning the relative positions of Gondwana and Laurussia, the two major palaeocontinents during the Late Devonian. The supported hypothesis proposes a close proximity between southern Laurussia and northwestern Gondwana, as evidenced by the wide dispersal of derived tristichopterids by the Late Devonian. A Laurussian origin of tristichopterids is proposed.
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