Unique pelvic fin in a tetrapod-like fossil fish, and the evolution of limb patterning
Open accessAbstract
Significance: The fossil fish Rhizodus hibberti , a member of the tetrapod stem group, shows a unique skeletal pattern in the pelvic fin. Rather than the highly conserved one-to-two pattern of a femur, tibia, and fibula (seen in all known tetrapods, including the extinct, fishlike members of the group), the fin of Rhizodus comprises a femur articulating distally with three bones, each with a distinct morphology. This reveals an early stage in the evolution of limb development, in which the processes patterning the proximal parts of the embryonic fin/limb (the stylopod and zeugopod) were not constrained in the way seen in living tetrapods and could produce more varied skeletal patterns in the adult.
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Detailed anatomical description of dermal rays is lacking, in part due to taphonomic bias.
“Detailed anatomical description of dermal rays is lacking, in part, due to taphonomic bias.”
From Fin ray patterns at the fin-to-limb transition (2020) · cites this paper as [21]
The Abstract says pelvic material is rare and few examples have been described, but it does not say that detailed descriptions of dermal rays are lacking. Results > Pelvic Fins reports that numerous lepidotrichia were preserved and most were removed during preparation; it does not attribute a lack of descriptions to taphonomic bias. Searches for dermal rays, lepidotrichia, and taphonomic bias found no passage making the claimed connection. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.72)
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Cites
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Fin ray patterns at the fin-to-limb transition
Stewart, T. A., Lemberg, J. B., Taft, N. K., Yoo, I., Daeschler, E. B., & Shubin, N. H. (2020) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1915983117 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
“Additionally, when fossils are prepared, it is common practice for the dermal skeleton to be removed to allow for visualization of the endoskeleton beneath (19 – 21).”
- Authors
- Jeffery, J. E., Storrs, G. W., Holland, T., Tabin, C. J., & Ahlberg, P. E.
- Affiliations
- University of Bristol (GB)
- Cincinnati Museum Center (US)
- Kronosaurus Korner, Richmond, QLD 4822, Australia;
- Harvard University (US)
- Uppsala University (SE)
- Corresponding author
- Jeffery, Jonathan E.
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2018-11-05
- Volume
- 115
- Issue
- 47
- Pages
- 12005-12010
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- PMC
- PMC6255188
- OpenAlex
- W2899706181
- Cited by
- 11
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 1.10
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Uppsala University Publications (Uppsala University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (RO1HD03443)
- National Science Foundation (EAR-0309747)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Evolution and Paleontology Studies
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation
- Keywords
- pelvic fin, limb evolution, limb patterning, zeugopod, fin-to-limb transition, fossil fish, skeletal morphology, Devonian
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Biological Evolution, Extremities, Femur, Fishes, Fossils, Phylogeny, Skeleton, Body Patterning, Animal Fins
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