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A microanatomical and histological study of the paired fin skeleton of the Devonian sarcopterygian Eusthenopteron foordi

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 July 2015

Michel Laurin ,
François J. Meunier ,
Damien Germain  and
Michel Lemoine
Michel Laurin
Affiliation:
FRE 2696, Evolution et Adaptation des Systèmes Ostéomusculaires, Université Paris 6-P. et M. Curie, 2, place Jussieu, 75005 Paris
François J. Meunier
Affiliation:
FRE 2696, Evolution et Adaptation des Systèmes Ostéomusculaires, Université Paris 6-P. et M. Curie, 2, place Jussieu, 75005 Paris UMS 0403, Biodiversité et Dynamique des Communautés aquatiques, Département des Milieux et Peuplements aquatiques, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, 43 rue Cuvier, 75231 Paris cedex 05, France
Damien Germain
Affiliation:
FRE 2696, Evolution et Adaptation des Systèmes Ostéomusculaires, Université Paris 6-P. et M. Curie, 2, place Jussieu, 75005 Paris
Michel Lemoine
Affiliation:
Département Histoire de la Terre, Bâtiment Paléontologie, UMR CNRS 5143, MNHN, 8, rue Buffon, 75005 Paris
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Abstract

Sections of fore- and hindlimbs of a Paleozoic sarcopterygian (Eusthenopteron foordi from the Devonian) possess a thin cortical compacta and an extensive and relatively loose medullary spongiosa. Most long bones have no free medullary cavity. the smallest bones appear to have a proportionately thicker cortical compacta (although the trend is not statistically significant) and a free medullary cavity. the morphological synapomorphies of panderichthyids and stegocephalians that could be interpreted as suggesting a life in shallow water and possibly occasional excursions on dry land are absent in E. foordi. Thus, recent data on sarcopterygian morphology are congruent with recent paleoecological interpretations that E. foordi lived in a marginal marine or estuarine environment and had an aquatic lifestyle.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 81 , Issue 1 , January 2007 , pp. 143 - 153
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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