Australia: The Land Where Time Began

A biography of the Australian continent 

The ray-finned fish comprise 90 % of modern fish.

The actinopterygians were less common in the Devonian than the Placoderms, only coming to dominate aquatic habitats after the disappearance of the placoderms. The earliest known actinopterygian remains are from the island of Gotland, Sweden, in deposits dating to the Silurian, 410 million years ago, where there were scales, fragmentary bones and isolated teeth. The earliest known complete skeletons are from the Early Devonian of Canada.

Mimia and Moythomasia have been found in the Gogo Formation, Western Australia, with a 3rd still to be described. Moythomasia has also been found in Europe, in deposits of similar age to those of Gogo.

Sources & Further reading

1. John A Long The Rise of Fishes - 500 Million years of Evolution, University of New South Wales Press, 1995