🇺🇸 영어 원문
Researchers at Flinders University have uncovered new details about one of the ancient fish species closely related to the first animals that eventually made the transition from water to land more than 380 million years ago.
Using advanced neutron imaging technology, scientists examined the skull and braincase of Koharalepis jarviki, a large predatory fish that lived during the Devonian Period, often called the "Age of Fishes." The fossil was discovered in Antarctica’s Lashly Mountains region and represents the only known specimen of its kind.
The research team used non-destructive scanning methods to peer inside the fossil and study structures that had remained hidden for hundreds of millions of years.
"This precious fossil belongs to a group called the Canowindridae which highlights the ancient links between Australia and Antarctica," says Flinders University Research Fellow Dr. Alice Clement, coauthor of a new article in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.
"It is important to study such specimens from the Devonian Age of Fishes when the waters teemed with predatory lobe-finned fish like this that are closely related to land animals (tetrapods)," says Dr. Clement, from the College of Science and Engineering.
Koharalepis belonged to the Canowindrid family, a group of fish that once lived across East Gondwana, with fossils now found in both Antarctica and Australia. Scientists consider these fish to be close relatives of the earliest four-limbed vertebrates that later evolved into land animals.
Lead author Corinne Mensforth, a PhD candidate from the Flinders Palaeontology Lab, says the fossil is especially valuable because it preserves the internal bones of the skull.
"We chose to focus on Koharalepis as it is the only fossil in the entire family to preserve the internal bones of the skull, which gives us valuable insights into its braincase and neuroanatomy."
The scans revealed that the fish’s brain shared similarities with species associated with the evolutionary transition from aquatic to terrestrial life.
"We found evidence that the brain of Koharalepis was similar to those of the fishes that straddle the vertebrate water-to-land transition.
"We also found adaptations to life near the surface of the water, including openings in the top of the skull for additional air intake and an organ within the brain that detects light and circadian rhythms."
The researchers believe these features may have helped the animal survive in shallow environments where access to oxygen near the water’s surface was important.
The study also sheds light on how Koharalepis may have behaved in its environment. Growing to around 1 meter in length, the fish was likely an ambush predator that hunted smaller animals in freshwater systems.
"Koharalepis which grew to about 1 meter was an ambush predator that preyed on other smaller animals in their environment, and with relatively small eyes it must have relied heavily on its other senses to capture its prey."
Flinders University Emeritus Professor John Long, who participated in earlier research that first described Koharalepis in 1992, says modern imaging technology made it possible to study internal structures without damaging the fossil.
"This has enabled us to understand some of the behavior, adaptations and relationships of Koharalepis to its environment and to the other tetrapod-like fishes — and how fish first left the wat"
🇰🇷 한국어 요약
플린더스 대학 연구진들은 3 억 8 천만 년 전 물에서 육지로 이동한 초기 동물들과 밀접한 관련이 있는 고대 물고기 종에 대한 새로운 세부 사항을 발견했습니다. 연구팀은 남극의 라슐리 산맥에서 발견된 Koharalepis jarviki 화석의 두개골과 뇌상을 비파괴적인 스캔 기술로 분석했습니다. 이 화석은 Canowindridae 과에 속하며, 호주와 남극 대륙 간의 고대 연결고리를 보여줍니다. 특히 이 물고기는 육상 척추동물의 조상과 유사한 뇌 구조와 수면 부근 생활을 위한 적응 특징을 가지고 있어, 물고기가 어떻게 육지로 진출했는지 이해하는 데 중요한 열쇠가 됩니다.
🔑 핵심 단어 (Vocabulary)
- Transition – 전환, 이동 – the transition from water to land
- Specimen – 표본, 샘플 – represents the only known specimen of its kind
- Non-destructive – 비파괴적인 – used non-destructive scanning methods
- Evolutionary – 진화적인 – evolutionary transition from aquatic to terrestrial life
- Vertebrates – 척추동물 – earliest four-limbed vertebrates
- Neuroanatomy – 신경해부학 – insights into its braincase and neuroanatomy
- Circadian rhythms – 일주기 리듬 – detects light and circadian rhythms
- Ambush predator – 매복 포식자 – was likely an ambush predator
- Adaptations – 적응 – found adaptations to life near the surface
- Imaging technology – 영상 기술 – modern imaging technology made it possible
🔗 원문 링크
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/05/260525000459.htm