The most detailed anatomical reconstruction of a Mesozoic coelacanth

by Luigi Manuelli, Jorge Mondéjar Fernández, Kathleen Dollman, Kudakwashe Jakata, Lionel Cavin

Although the split of coelacanths from other sarcopterygians is ancient, around 420 million years ago, the taxic diversity and the morphological disparity of the clade have remained relatively low, with a few exceptions. This supposedly slow evolutionary pace has earned the extant coelacanth Latimeria the nickname “living fossil”. This status generated much interest in both extinct and extant coelacanths leading to the production of numerous anatomical studies. However, detailed descriptions of extinct taxa are made difficult due to the quality of the fossil material which generally prevents fine comparisons with the extant Latimeria. Here we describe a new genus and species of coelacanth, Graulia branchiodonta gen. et sp. nov. from the Middle Triassic of Eastern France, based on microtomographical imaging using synchrotron radiation. Through exquisite 3D preservation of the specimens, we reconstructed the skeletal anatomy of this new species at an unprecedented level of detail for an extinct coelacanth, and barely achieved for the extant Latimeria. In particular, we identified a well-developed trilobed ossified lung whose function is still uncertain. The skeletal anatomy of G. branchiodonta displays the general Bauplan of Mesozoic coelacanths and a phylogenetic analysis resolved it as a basal Mawsoniidae, shedding light on the early diversification of one of the two major lineages of Mesozoic coelacanths. However, despite its exquisite preservation, G. branchiodonta carries a weak phylogenetic signal, highlighting that the sudden radiation of coelacanths in the Early and Middle Triassic makes it currently difficult to detect synapomorphies and resolve phylogenetic interrelationships among coelacanths in the aftermath of the great Permo-Triassic biodiversity crisis.