Researchers at Flinders University have uncovered new details about one of the ancient fish species closely related to the first animals that eventually made the transition from water to land more than 380 million years ago.
Using advanced neutron imaging technology, scientists examined the skull and braincase of Koharalepis jarviki, a large predatory fish that lived during the Devonian Period, often called the "Age of Fishes." The fossil was discovered in Antarctica's Lashly Mountains region and represents the only known specimen of its kind.
High-Tech Imaging Unlocks Ancient Anatomy
The research team used non-destructive scanning methods to peer inside the fossil and study structures that had remained hidden for hundreds of millions of years.
"This precious fossil belongs to a group called the Canowindridae which highlights the ancient links between Australia and Antarctica," says Flinders University Research Fellow Dr. Alice Clement, coauthor of a new article in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.
