Prehistoric Earth Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Ichthyostega

Restoration

Ichthyostega was a primitive amphibian that lived in the Late Devonian Period of Greenland.

Description[]

Ichthyostega measured about 1.5 meters in length. It had seven digits on each hind limb (the front limbs have never been found)[1], and a finned tail. Ichthyostega was one of the first animals to use lungs as primary breathing organs and the adult's skeleton was well-adapted for both aquatic and terrestrial life.

Classification[]

Ichthyostega was closely related to Acanthostega, but the former was more well adapted to life on land than the latter.[2] There are four known species of Ichthyostega, all from the same time and place: I. stensioei, I. watsoni, I. eigili, and I. kochi.

Discovery[]

All four species of Ichthyostega were described in 1932 from Greenland. Some additional specimens were collected from the area during the next twenty years.

Paleobiology[]

Ichthyostega was probably a carnivore.

References[]

  1. Evolutionary developmental biology, by Brian Keith Hall, 1998, ISBN 0412785803, p. 262
  2. "Acanthostega gunneri". Devonian Times. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
Advertisement