| 1. |
- Pierce, Stephanie E., et al.
(författare)
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Vertebral architecture in the earliest stem tetrapods
- 2013
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 494:7436, s. 226-229
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The construction of the vertebral column has been used as a key anatomical character in defining and diagnosing early tetrapod groups(1). Rhachitomous vertebrae(2)-in which there is a dorsally placed neural arch and spine, an anteroventially placed intercentrum and paired, posterodorsally placed pleurocentra have long been considered the ancestral morphology for tetrapods(1,3-6). Nonetheless, very little is known about vertebral anatomy in the earliest stem tetrapods, because most specimens remain trapped in surrounding matrix, obscuring Important anatomical features(7-9). Here we describe the three-dimensional vertebral architecture of the Late Devonian stem tetrapod Ichthyostega using propagation phase-contrast X-ray synchrotron. microtomography. Our scans reveal a diverse array of new morphological, and associated developmental and functional, characteristics, including a possible posterior-to-anterior vertebral ossification sequence and the first evolutionary appearance of ossified sternal elements. One of the most intriguing features relates to the positional relationships between the vertebral elements, with the pleurocentra being unexpectedly sutured or fused to the intercentra that directly succeed them, indicating a 'reverse' rhachitomous design(10). Comparison of Ichthyostega with two other stem tetrapods, Acanthostegi and Pederpess, shows that reverse rhachitomous vertebrae may be the ancestral condition for limbed vertebrates. This study fundamentally revises our current understanding' of vertebral column evolution in the earliest tetrapods and raises questions about the presumed vertebral architecture of tetrapodomorph fish(12,13) and later, more crownward, tetrapods.
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| 2. |
- Ahlberg, Per E., et al.
(författare)
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Palaeontology: A firm step from water to land
- 2006
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 440:7085, s. 747-749
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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| 3. |
- Ahlberg, Per E., 1963-, et al.
(författare)
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The smallest known Devonian tetrapod shows unexpectedly derived features
- 2020
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Ingår i: Royal Society Open Science. - : ROYAL SOC. - 2054-5703. ; 7:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A new genus and species of Devonian tetrapod, Brittagnathus minutus gen. et sp. nov., is described from a single complete right lower jaw ramus recovered from the Acanthostega mass-death deposit in the upper part of the Britta Dal Formation (upper Famennian) of Stensio Bjerg, Gauss Peninsula, East Greenland. Visualization by propagation phase contrast synchrotron microtomography allows a complete digital dissection of the specimen. With a total jaw ramus length of 44.8 mm, Brittagnathus is by far the smallest Devonian tetrapod described to date. It differs from all previously known Devonian tetrapods in having only a fang pair without a tooth row on the anterior coronoid and a large posterior process on the posterior coronoid. The presence of an incipient surangular crest and a concave prearticular margin to the adductor fossa together cause the fossa to face somewhat mesially, reminiscent of the condition in Carboniferous tetrapods. A phylogenetic analysis places Brittagnathus crownward to other Devonian tetrapods, adjacent to the Tournaisian genus Pederpes. Together with other recent discoveries, it suggests that diversification of 'Carboniferous-grade' tetrapods had already begun before the end of the Devonian and that the group was not greatly affected by the end-Devonian mass extinction.
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| 4. |
- Callier, Viviane, et al.
(författare)
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Contrasting developmental trajectories in the earliest known tetrapod forelimbs
- 2009
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 324:5925, s. 364-367
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ichthyostega and Acanthostega are the earliest tetrapods known from multiple near-complete skeletons, with Acanthostega generally considered the more primitive. New material indicates differing ontogenetic trajectories for their forelimbs: In Ichthyostega, the pattern of muscle attachment processes on small humeri (upper armbones) resembles that in "fish" members of the tetrapod stem group such as Tiktaalik, whereas large humeri approach (but fail to attain) the tetrapod crown-group condition; in Acanthostega, both small and large humeri exhibit the crown-group pattern. We infer that Ichthyostega underwent greater locomotory terrestrialization during ontogeny. The newly recognized primitive characteristics also suggest that Ichthyostega could be phylogenetically more basal than Acanthostega.
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| 5. |
- Clack, Jennifer A., et al.
(författare)
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A new genus of Devonian tetrapod from North-East Greenland, with new information on the lower jaw of Ichthyostega
- 2012
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Ingår i: Palaeontology. - : Wiley. - 0031-0239 .- 1475-4983. ; 55:1, s. 73-86
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A new genus and species of Devonian tetrapod has been identified from material collected in 1947 from the southern slope of Mt. Celsius, Ymer phi, North-East Greenland. The specimen preserves both lower jaws, partial palate, premaxillae and maxillae, with a natural mould of parts of the shoulder girdle. The new taxon, Ymeria denticulata, shows differences in dentition, skull ornament and lateral line expression from both Acanthostega and Ichthyostega, but it shows a closer resemblance to the latter. A cladistic analysis not only suggests that Ymeria lies adjacent to Ichthyostega on the tetrapod stem, but also reveals substantial topological instability. As the third genus and the fifth species of tetrapod identified from North-East Greenland, it demonstrates the high diversity of Devonian tetrapods in that region.
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| 6. |
- Sanchez, Sophie, et al.
(författare)
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Life history of the stem tetrapod Acanthostega revealed by synchrotron microtomography
- 2016
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 537:7620, s. 408-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The transition from fish to tetrapod was arguably the most radical series of adaptive shifts in vertebrate evolutionary history. Data are accumulating rapidly for most aspects of these events(1-5), but the life histories of the earliest tetrapods remain completely unknown, leaving a major gap in our understanding of these organisms as living animals. Symptomatic of this problem is the unspoken assumption that the largest known Devonian tetrapod fossils represent adult individuals. Here we present the first, to our knowledge, life history data for a Devonian tetrapod, from the Acanthostega mass-death deposit of Stensio Bjerg, East Greenland(6,7). Using propagation phase-contrast synchrotron microtomography (PPC-SR mu CT)(8) to visualize the histology of humeri (upper arm bones) and infer their growth histories, we show that even the largest individuals from this deposit are juveniles. A long early juvenile stage with unossified limb bones, during which individuals grew to almost final size, was followed by a slow-growing late juvenile stage with ossified limbs that lasted for at least six years in some individuals. The late onset of limb ossification suggests that the juveniles were exclusively aquatic, and the predominance of juveniles in the sample suggests segregated distributions of juveniles and adults at least at certain times. The absolute size at which limb ossification began differs greatly between individuals, suggesting the possibility of sexual dimorphism, adaptive strategies or competition-related size variation.
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