Elpistostege had interclavicle and other news

[Ben Creisler <bcreisler@gmail.com>]

From: Ben Creisler
bcreisler@gmail.com

A number of recent news items:

The newly discovered complete specimen of the Devonian "fishopod"
Elpistostege has been "prepared" with CT X-ray scans
(tomodensitometry) to digitally separate matrix from fossil bone. The
technique has produced a virtual reconstruction of the fossil and
allows detailed study down to fine details, both external and
internal. The CT scanning was done in Austin, Texas and the digital
reconstruction was done at the Digital Imagery Research and
Development Centre (Centre de recherche et de développement de
l’imagerie numérique (CDRIN)) in Matane, Quebec. The study has aided
the delicate and  time-consuming physical preparation of the fossil
bones themselves (which are in many cases fractured or crushed).

The research so far  shows that Elpistostege is closer to tetrapods
than Tiktaalik is.

Unlike Tiktaalik, Elpistostege has a well developed interclavicle bone
(not present in Tiktaalik) and the construction of its front and back
fins includes recognizable elements that make them more like tetrapod
limbs.

The latest update on the on-going study of  Elpistostege  was
presented this week at the  82e congrès de l’Association francophone
pour le savoir (Acfas) [82nd Congress of the Francophone Association
for Knowledge] in Quebec, following a presentation at the SVP meeting
last autumn.

A paper in Nature is in preparation.

(in French)

http://www.ledevoir.com/societe/science-et-technologie/408066/plint-chaud-du-poisson-au-tetrapode-le-chainon-manquant-est-gaspesien

also:
http://www.uqar.ca/uqar-info/lelpistostege-watsoni-livre-ses-secrets/

http://www.uquebec.ca/communications/article.cfm?annee=2014&cat=1&newsid=10698

Paleontology abstracts from the Acfas congress (in French)

http://www.acfas.ca/evenements/congres/programme/82/200/206/C#252632

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More on Leinkupal

http://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/news/uk-world/dinosaurs-survived-jurassic-era-1.372374

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Another sample of dinosaur and other paleo art by Julius Csotonyi



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/12/paleoart-julius-csotonyi-illustrations_n_5226787.html

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