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The endocranial anatomy of Gogonasus andrewsae Long, 1985 revealed through micro CT-scanning

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2014

Timothy Holland
Timothy Holland*
Affiliation:
Museum Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia School of Geosciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia, 3800. Email: tholland@museum.vic.gov.au
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Abstract

Micro computed tomography has revealed as yet undescribed internal braincase anatomy of the tetrapodomorph fish Gogonasus andrewsae from the Frasnian Gogo Formation, Paddy's Valley, Kimberley Region, Western Australia. The complete material, including the cranial cavities and channels for blood vessels and nerves, reveals several notable features inside the endocranium. The ethmosphenoid unit includes a median capsule, which lies underneath the median postrostral and rostral series. Based on innervation and association with cutaneous vessels, potential electroreceptive function is inferred for this capsule. Several regions of poor ossification, including foramina for the glossopharyngeal and abducens nerves, as well as the apparent suture separating the ethmoid from the sphenoid portions of the braincase, are possibly indicative of early ontogenetic features. Former interpretations of the course for the superficial ophthalmic nerve inside the nasal capsule of Osteolepis and Gyroptychius may be incorrect, with new research supporting a path through the nasal septum, as in Gogonasus.

Keywords

DevonianelectroreceptionGogo Formationotico-occipitalrostral organSarcopterygiiTetrapodomorphatomography
Type
Articles
Information
Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of The Royal Society of Edinburgh , Volume 105 , Issue 1 , March 2014 , pp. 9 - 34
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Society of Edinburgh 2014 

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