Vertebrate Life - Sarcopterygians Overview

Flashcards covering key concepts and vocabulary from the lecture on vertebrate life and sarcopterygians.

Sarcopterygians

A clade of fish with paired fins that are fleshy and contain a bony central axis.

Tetrapoda

A superclass that encompasses all vertebrates with four limbs.

Coelacanths

An ancient group of lobe-finned fishes, considered the most basal extant sarcopterygians.

Lungfishes

A group of sarcopterygians that possess alveolar lungs and can breathe air.

Rhipidistians

An extinct group of sarcopterygian fishes that are ancestral to tetrapods.

Monobasic paired fins

Fins that are paired and fleshy, found in sarcopterygians.

Cosmine

A substance found on the dermal bones and scales of certain fish, including sarcopterygians.

Intracranial joint

A joint between the anterior and posterior portions of the cranium, unique to extant coelacanths.

OvoViviparous

A reproductive strategy where the young are born alive from eggs that hatch within the mother's body.

Facultative air breather

An organism that can breathe air when necessary but predominantly lives in an aquatic environment.

Obligate air breather

An organism that must regularly access air to survive, especially when in low-oxygen environments.

Paedomorphosis

A developmental process where juvenile traits are retained in the adult stage, observed in lungfishes.

Autostylic jaw suspension

A type of jaw attachment found in lungfishes, where the jaw is fused with the cranium.

CITES Appendix 1

A list of species that are threatened with extinction and are prohibited from international trade.

Tapetum lucidum

A layer of tissue in the eye of some animals, including coelacanths, that reflects light and enhances vision in low light.