In Depth
Gogonasus was first named in 1985 from a single preserved snout, but since this time better and better specimens have been recovered, with several skulls, and a complete three dimensionally preserved individual discovered in 2005 (another example of how the Gogo Formation of Australia is yielding exquisitely well preserved fossils). Gogonasus is thought to be a relative of Osteolepis, though beyond this, Gogonasus is also thought to be a good example of the early fish that began to develop anatomical features that would one day enable fish to walk out of the water for life on land (to clarify this is not intended to say that Gogonasus was ‘the’ missing link, merely that it was of another transitional form present in a wider evolutionary trend).
Further Reading
- A new osteolepidid fish from the Upper Devonian Gogo Formation of Western Australia. - Records of the Western Australian Museum 12, 361–377. - John A. Long - 1985. - Osteology and functional morphology of the osteolepiform fish Gogonasus Long, 1985, from the Upper Devonian Gogo Formation, Western Australia. - Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 57, 1–89. - J. A. Long, R. E. Barwick, K. S. W. Campbelkl - 1997. - An exceptional Devonian fish from Australia sheds light on tetrapod origins. - Nature 444, 199-202. - John A. Long, Gavin C. Young, Tim Holland, Tim J. Senden & Erich M. G. Fitzgerald - 2006.
