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Concept
Eusthenopteron
Summary
Eusthenopteron (from εὖ eû, 'good', σθένος sthénos, 'strength', and πτερόν pteron 'wing' or 'fin') is a genus of prehistoric sarcopterygian (often called lobe-finned fishes) which has attained an iconic status from its close relationships to tetrapods. Early depictions of this animal show it emerging onto land; however, paleontologists now widely agree that it was a strictly aquatic animal. The genus Eusthenopteron is known from several species that lived during the Late Devonian period, about 385 million years ago. Eusthenopteron was first described by J. F. Whiteaves in 1881, as part of a large collection of fishes from Miguasha, Quebec. Some 2,000 Eusthenopteron specimens have been collected from Miguasha, one of which was the object of intensely detailed study and several papers from the 1940s to the 1990s by paleoichthyologist Erik Jarvik.
Eusthenopteron is medium to large sized tristichopterid, E. foordi is estimated to exceed , while E. jenkinsi probably reached .
The earliest-known fossilized evidence of bone marrow has been found in Eusthenopteron, which may be the origin of bone marrow in tetrapods.
Eusthenopteron shares many unique features in common with the earliest-known tetrapods. It shares a similar pattern of skull roofing bones with forms such as Ichthyostega and Acanthostega. Eusthenopteron, like other tetrapodomorph fishes, had internal nostrils, (or a choana) which are one of the defining traits of tetrapodomorphs (including tetrapods). It also had labyrinthodont teeth, characterized by infolded enamel, which characterizes all of the earliest known tetrapods as well.
Unlike the early tetrapods, they did not have larval gills.
Like other fish-like sarcopterygians, Eusthenopteron possessed a two-part cranium, which hinged at mid-length along an intracranial joint. Eusthenopterons notoriety comes from the pattern of its fin endoskeleton, which bears a distinct humerus, ulna, and radius (in the fore-fin) and femur, tibia, and fibula (in the pelvic fin).
Official source
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