Qingmenodus is a genus of prehistoric lobe-finned fish. Fossils of Qingmenodus were found in China and date back to the Early Devonianperiod. Qingmenodus reveals the first well-ossified otoccipital braincase in onychodonts. Palaeontologists believe that Qingmenodus was one of the oldest onychodont fish.[1]
Relationships
A study of additional new fossils of Qingmenodus in a larger phylogenetic analysis of Sarcopterygii including new neurocranial characters supported placing onychodontiforms as stem-coelacanths, within Actinistia.[2]
^Lu, J., et al. 2016. A Devonian predatory fish provides insights into the early evolution of modern sarcopterygians. Science Advances, vol. 2, no. 6, e1600154, doi:10.1126/sciadv.1600154