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Lungfish evolution and development.

Jean M P Joss1

  • 1Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia. jjoss@rna.bio.mq.edu.au <jjoss@rna.bio.mq.edu.au>

General and Comparative Endocrinology
|December 13, 2005
PubMed
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Lungfish may be closer to tetrapod ancestors than previously thought. This study hypothesizes that neotenous (larval) Devonian lungfish, lacking adult specializations, could resemble early tetrapod lobe-finned fish ancestors.

Area of Science:

  • Paleontology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Ichthyology

Background:

  • The origin of tetrapods from lobe-finned fish ancestors in the mid-Devonian is established.
  • The precise ancestral group among extant lobe-finned fishes (lungfish or coelacanths) remains debated.
  • Living lungfish exhibit soft-anatomical similarities to amphibians, unlike coelacanths or ray-finned fishes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the hypothesis that lungfish, specifically neotenous Devonian forms, could be closer to tetrapod ancestors.
  • To explore the potential role of metamorphosis and neoteny in the lungfish life cycle during the Devonian period.
  • To reconcile the features of Devonian lungfish fossils with the characteristics of early tetrapod ancestors.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative anatomical analysis of living lungfish, amphibians, coelacanths, and ray-finned fishes.

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  • Review of existing fossil evidence of Devonian lungfish and panderichthiad fishes.
  • Consideration of developmental biology, including paedomorphosis and neoteny, in lungfish and amphibians.

    • Main Results:

    • Many Devonian lungfish possess specialized features that seemingly exclude them as direct tetrapod ancestors.
    • Hypothesized neotenous lungfish, reproductively mature in a larval form, would lack these specialized adult features.
    • Living lungfish display larval traits and possess large genomes, features correlated with neoteny in amphibians.

    Conclusions:

    • Neotenous Devonian lungfish, if they existed, could more closely resemble the tetrapod ancestral lobe-finned fish.
    • The phylogenetic relationship between lungfish and early tetrapods remains enigmatic.
    • Further exploration for larval Devonian lungfish fossils is warranted to test this hypothesis.