Scientists have analyzed ancient fish fossils from Australia and China, providing new insights into how early vertebrates transitioned from water to land. The studies focus on lungfish remains over 400 million years old, revealing details about their anatomy and evolution. These findings highlight the role of lungfish as close relatives to tetrapods, including humans.
Researchers from Flinders University in Australia and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have published two studies shedding light on ancient lungfish, key to understanding vertebrate evolution during the Late Devonian period, around 400 million years ago.
In one study, advanced CT scanning was used on a fragmentary fossil from Australia's Gogo Formation in the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia. This site, once part of a Devonian reef system akin to the modern Great Barrier Reef, yielded a specimen first described in 2010 as potentially a new type of fish. Lead author Dr. Alice Clement noted, "The unusual specimen was so enigmatic, the authors who first described it in 2010 considered it could be a whole new type of fish never before seen in science." The scans corrected earlier misinterpretations, showing the fossil had been viewed upside down and back to front, and revealed complex details of the brain cavity and inner ear. Coauthor Hannah Thiele added, "We were able to compare its most preserved inner ear area with other Gogo lungfish. This is an extra data point in the amazing collection of lungfish and early vertebrate species."
The second study reconstructed the skull of Paleolophus yunnanensis, a 410-million-year-old lungfish from southern China. Dr. Brian Choo, who collaborated on the research, explained, "Paleolophus gives us an unprecedented look at a lungfish from a time between their earliest appearance and their great diversification a few million years later." This fossil shows feeding adaptations that persisted into later periods and compares to other early species like Diabolepis from China and Dipnorhynchus from Australia.
Both studies, supported by the Australian Research Council and China's National Natural Science Foundation, emphasize lungfish's ancient lineage, with living relatives like the Australian lungfish in Queensland. The findings were published in the Canadian Journal of Zoology and Current Biology in 2026.