'Tetrapodomorpha' is a
clade of
vertebrates, consisting of
sarcopterygians with a number of features of
tetrapods. Primitive forms, like ''
Tiktaalik'', have been referred to as "fishapods" by their discoverers, since they were half-fish half-tetrapods, at least in appearance.
Tetrapodomorpha contains the true
tetrapods and several groups of related lobe-finned fishes, collectively known as the
osteolepiforms.
Among the characters defining the tetrapodomorphs are modifications to the fins, notably a
humerus with convex head articulating with the glenoid fossa (the socket of the
shoulder joint).
Tetrapodomorph fossils are known from the early
Devonian onwards, and include ''
Osteolepis'' and ''
Panderichthys''.
Taxonomy and Phylogeny
★ 'Class
Sarcopterygii'
★
★ 'Subclass TETRAPODOMORPHA'
★
★
★ ''
Kenichthys''
★
★
★ Order
Rhizodontida
★
★
★ Superorder
Osteolepidida (or Osteolepiformes)
★
★
★
★ Family
Osteolepididae
★
★
★
★
★ ''
Osteolepis''
★
★
★
★ Family
Tristichopteridae
★
★
★
★
★ ''
Eusthenopteron''
★
★
★
★ Family
Megalichthyidae
★
★
★
★ Family
Canowindridae
★
★
★
★ (unranked)
Elpistostegalia
★
★
★
★
★ Order
Panderichthyida
★
★
★
★
★ ''
Tiktaalik''
★
★
★
★
★ ''
Livoniana''
★
★
★
★
★ ''
Metaxygnathus''
★
★
★
★
★ ''
Ventastega''
★
★
★
★
★ 'Superclass
Tetrapoda'
----
★ After Benton, 2004
[1]:
References
★
Tetrapodomorpha - Terrestrial vertebrate-like sarcopterygians Mikko Haaramo
★
★
Early tetrapod evolution, Michel Laurin, Marc Girondot and Armand de Ricqlès, , , TREE, 2000