A Late Devonian coelacanth reconfigures actinistian phylogeny, disparity, and evolutionary dynamics
The living coelacanth Latimeria (Sarcopterygii: Actinistia) is an iconic, so-called 'living fossil' within one of the most apparently morphologically conservative vertebrate groups. We describe a new, 3-D preserved coelacanth from the Late Devonian Gogo Formation in Western Australia. We assemble a comprehensive analysis of the group to assess the phylogeny, evolutionary rates, and morphological disparity of all coelacanths. We reveal a major shift in morphological disparity between Devonian and post-Devonian coelacanths. The newly described fossil fish fills a critical transitional stage in coelacanth disparity and evolution. Since the mid-Cretaceous, discrete character changes (representing major morphological innovations) have essentially ceased, while meristic and continuous characters have continued to evolve within coelacanths. Considering a range of putative environmental drivers, tectonic activity best explains variation in the rates of coelacanth evolution.
Authors
- Benedict King (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9489-8274)
- Michael S. Y. Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3905-0887)
- Alice M. Clement (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0380-7347)
- Kate Trinajstic (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6519-6396)
- Corey J. A. Bradshaw (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5328-7741)
- Olivia Vanhaesebroucke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3484-9454)
- Richard Cloutier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5780-3304)
- John A. Long (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8012-0114)
- Hugo Dutel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1908-5150)
Institutions
- Mahasarakham University (TH)
- Australian Museum (AU)
- Flinders University (AU)
- Université du Québec à Rimouski (CA)
- Curtin University (AU)
- South Australian Museum (AU)
- University of Bristol (GB)
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2024-09-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51238-4
- Citations
- 15
- Primary Topic
- Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 23.82
Funders
- Université du Québec à Rimouski
- Sight Research UK
- Flinders University
- Mahasarakham University
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
- Natural Environment Research Council
- Australian Research Council