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A primitive sarcopterygian fish with an eyestalk

Nature volume 410, pages 81–84 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

The discovery of two Early Devonian osteichthyan (bony fish) fossils1,2,3,4 has challenged established ideas about the origin of osteichthyans and their divergence into actinopterygians (teleosts and their relatives) and sarcopterygians (tetrapods, coelacanths, lungfishes and related groups)5,6,7. Psarolepis from China1,2,8,9 and an unnamed braincase from Australia3 combine derived sarcopterygian and actinopterygian characters with primitive features previously restricted to non-osteichthyans, suggesting that early osteichthyan evolution may have involved substantial parallellism between sarcopterygians and actinopterygians. But interpretation of these fossils has been hampered by poor phylogenetic resolution1,3. Here we describe a basal sarcopterygian fish, Achoania gen, et sp. nov., that fills the morphological gap between Psarolepis and higher sarcoptergyians. We also report the presence of eyestalk attachments in both Achoania and Psarolepis, showing that this supposedly non-osteichthyan feature occurs in basal sarcopterygians as well as the actinoptergyian-like Australian braincase3.

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Figure 1: Achoania jarviki gen. et sp. nov., holotype, IVPP V6835.
Figure 2: Psarolepis specimen (IVPP V11490.1) in posterolateral view, showing the eyestalk attachment area.
Figure 3: Phylogenetic analysis.

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Acknowledgements

We thank M. M. Chang, P. Janvier and M. I. Coates for useful discussions, U. Samuelson and Zhang Jie for photographic work, Lu Xiufen for specimen preparation and Hu Huiqing for artwork. M.Z. & X.Y. acknowledge the support from the Chinese Foundation of Natural Sciences, Ministry of Science & Technology (China), and National Geographic Society (US). X.Y. thanks Kean University for faculty research and development support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 643, Beijing, 100044, China

    Min Zhu

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Kean University, Union, 07083, New Jersey, USA

    Xiaobo Yu

  3. Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK

    Per E. Ahlberg

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  1. Min Zhu
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  2. Xiaobo Yu
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  3. Per E. Ahlberg
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Zhu, M., Yu, X. & Ahlberg, P. A primitive sarcopterygian fish with an eyestalk. Nature 410, 81–84 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35065078

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