Dipterus

Name meaning:

Two‑winged

Period of life:

393–382 million years ago

Period:

Devonian period

Habitat:

Freshwater environment

Taxonomy:

Bony fish

Countries:

Brindabellaspis

Eusthenopteron

Dipterus (393–382 million years ago)

What does the name mean: “two-winged” (from Greek di — “two” and pteron — “wing”).

Dipterus is one of the most remarkable fishes of the “Age of Fishes,” which lived about 393–382 million years ago, in the Late Devonian period. This was a time when the seas and rivers of Earth teemed with life: armored fishes, early sharks, primitive lobe-finned fishes — all competed for their place under the sun (and in the water). But Dipterus stood out among them.

It belonged to the group of lungfishes — organisms capable of breathing not only with gills but also with primitive lungs. This dual respiratory system allowed it to survive where other fishes suffocated: in swamps and drying pools, where oxygen levels in the water dropped sharply.

Dipterus reached about 35 centimeters in length. Its body was elongated, fusiform, and covered with strong cosmoid scales resembling armor. Its head resembled that of lobe-finned fishes, but instead of sharp teeth it possessed ribbed dental plates on the palate — an ideal tool for crushing the shells of crustaceans and mollusks.

Particular attention of paleontologists has been drawn to its pectoral fins. They had strong, fleshy bases resembling the precursors of limbs. Thanks to them, Dipterus could not only swim but also “crawl” along the bottom or even move onto muddy shallows, progressing in short bursts.

Dipterus preferred shallow freshwater bodies, where it fed on small invertebrates. Its ability to breathe air gave it a major advantage in the hot, swampy Devonian environment. It is possible that fishes like this were among the first organisms to take steps from water onto land.

For paleontologists, Dipterus is not just an ancient fish. It is a living link between the aquatic world and the terrestrial one, one of the earliest indications of how evolution prepared organisms to conquer a new environment — the world above the water’s surface.

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