Australia's exceptional Palaeozoic fossil fishes, and a Gondwana origin for land vertebrates

澳大利亚特殊的古生代鱼类化石和陆地脊椎动物的冈瓦纳起源

• 批准号: DP0558499
• 负责人: Dr Gavin Young
• 金额: $ 19.42万
• 依托单位: The Australian National University
• 依托单位国家: 澳大利亚
• 项目类别: Discovery Projects
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 澳大利亚
• 起止时间: 2005-01-01 至 2008-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://dataportal.arc.gov.au/RGS/Web/Grants/DP0558499
• 关键词: Australia; exceptional; Palaeozoic; fossil; fishes

The 370 million-year-old Gogo deposit in WA has produced the World's best-preserved fossil fishes of Devonian age. New discoveries of related forms in eastern and central Australia document the deep history of Australia's unique vertebrate fauna, and provide new evidence on the evolution of the first jaws and limbs in vertebrates. They indicate that the first land animals may have evolved on the Australian landmass. These remarkably preserved, information-rich skulls and braincases of some of the oldest known vertebrate fossils provide unique data on early evolution of the head and brain; they are held in national collections as a significant contribution to both National and World Heritage.

西澳州拥有 3.7 亿年历史的 Gogo 矿床孕育了世界上保存最完好的泥盆纪鱼类化石。澳大利亚东部和中部相关形态的新发现记录了澳大利亚独特脊椎动物群的深厚历史，并为脊椎动物第一口和四肢的进化提供了新证据。它们表明第一批陆地动物可能是在澳大利亚陆地上进化的。这些保存完好、信息丰富的一些已知最古老脊椎动物化石的头骨和脑壳提供了有关头部和大脑早期进化的独特数据。它们被国家收藏，作为对国家和世界遗产的重大贡献。