Data from: A Devonian predatory fish provides insights into the early evolution of modern sarcopterygians

Crown or modern sarcopterygians (coelacanths, lungfishes, and tetrapods)
differ substantially from stem sarcopterygians, such as Guiyu and
Psarolepis, and a lack of transitional fossil taxa limits our
understanding of the origin of the crown group. The Onychodontiformes, an
enigmatic Devonian predatory fish group, seems to have characteristics of
both stem and crown sarcopterygians but is difficult to place because of
insufficient anatomical information. We describe the new skull material of
Qingmenodus, a Pragian (~409-million-year-old) onychodont from China,
using high-resolution computed tomography to image internal structures of
the braincase. In addition to its remarkable similarities with stem
sarcopterygians in the ethmosphenoid portion, Qingmenodus exhibits
coelacanth-like neurocranial features in the otic region. A phylogenetic
analysis based on a revised data set unambiguously assigns onychodonts to
crown sarcopterygians as stem coelacanths. Qingmenodus thus bridges the
morphological gap between stem sarcopterygians and coelacanths and helps
to illuminate the early evolution and diversification of crown
sarcopterygians.