In Depth
Rhinodipterus is a genus of lungfish that lived in Australia during the Late Devonian. Rhinodipterus seems to have had cranial ribs attached to the brain case as well as being at least partially adapted to breathing in the open air. This might suggest that Rhinodipterus was a shallow water fish, and coupled with the observation that it is known from marine deposits, may have inhabited the tidal zone, and therefore been forced to cope with different depths of water throughout the day, greatly necessitating the need to breath out of water.
Further Reading
Further reading- New species of Rhinodipteurs (Dipnoi) from the Upper Devonian of north-western Russia. – Geobios 19:269-274. – N. I. Krupina – 1995. - A new species of long-snouted lungfish from the Late Devonian of Australia, and it’s functional and biogeographical implications. - Palaeontology, 55(1), 51-71. - A. M. Clement - 2012. – The dipnoan buccal pump reconstructed in 3D and implications for air breathing in Devonian lungfishes. – Paleobiology. 42 (2): 289–304. – A. M. Clement, J. A. Long, P. Tafforeau & P. E. Ahlberg – 2016.
