Dipterus(fromGreek:δίςdís,'two' andGreek:πτερόνpteron'wing')[2]is an extinct genus oflungfishfrom the middleDevonianperiod of Europe and North America.

Dipterus
Temporal range:Devonian,EifelianGivetian
Dipterus valenciennesi
Scientific classificationEdit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Sarcopterygii
Class: Dipnoi
Family: Dipteridae
Genus: Dipterus
Sedgwick & Murchison, 1828
Type species
Dipterus valenciennesi
Sedgwick & Murchison, 1828
Other species[1]
  • D. contraversusHay, 1899
  • D. crassusGross, 1933
  • D. macropterus(Traquair, 1888)
  • D. serratus(Eichwald, 1844)
Restoration
Illustration ofDipterus valenciennesi

In most respects,Dipterus,which was about 35 centimetres (14 in) long, closely resembled modern lungfish. Like its ancestorDipnorhynchus,it hadtooth-like plates on itspalateinstead of real teeth. However, unlike its modern relatives, in which thedorsal,caudal,andanal finare fused into one,Dipterus's fins were still separated.[3]

The genus was established byAdam Sedgwick&Roderick Murchisonin the year 1828.

References

edit
  1. ^"Fossilworks: Dipterus".
  2. ^Roberts, George (1839).An etymological and explanatory dictionary of the terms and language of geology.London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longmans. p. 50.Retrieved30 December2021.
  3. ^Palmer, D., ed. (1999).The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals.London: Marshall Editions. p. 45.ISBN1-84028-152-9.