Elpistostege

Elpistostege is an extinct genus of tetrapod-like vertebrate that lived in the Late Devonian period (Late Givetian to Early Frasnian). Fossils of its skull and a part of its backbone have been found in rocks of the Escuminac Formation in Quebec, Canada. A complete specimen of the animal has since been found in the same formation. It has been proposed, by the palaeontologist Richard Cloutier at Université du Québec à Rimouski, that this species may dethrone its close relative Tiktaalik in the position of the most primitive stem-tetrapod, though phylogenetic analyses have shown them to be very close relatives. The fossil suggests that human hands likely evolved, eventually, from the fins of this fish, according to Cloutier, who claimed "It is the first time that digits, as seen in tetrapods, are found in a fin covered by scales and fin rays, as seen in fishes."[1]

Elpistostege watsoni on display at the Miguasha National Park.

Elpistostege Temporal range: Late Devonian
Fossil skull
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Stegocephalia
Family:	†Elpistostegidae
Genus:	†Elpistostege Westoll, 1938
Species:	†E. watsoni
Binomial name
†Elpistostege watsoni Westoll, 1938