''Neoceratodus'' is a genus of

lungfish Lungfish are freshwater vertebrates belonging to the class Dipnoi. Lungfish are best known for retaining ancestral characteristics within the Osteichthyes, including the ability to breathe air, and ancestral structures within Sarcopterygii, inc ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Neoceratodontidae Neoceratodontidae is a Family (biology), family of lungfish containing ''Neoceratodus'' (represented by the extant Australian lungfish) and the extinct ''Mioceratodus''. It, South American lungfish, Lepidosirenidae, and Protopterus, Protopteridae ...

. The extant

Australian lungfish The Australian lungfish (''Neoceratodus forsteri''), also known as the Queensland lungfish, Burnett salmon and barramunda, is the only surviving member of the family Neoceratodontidae. It is one of only six extant lungfish species in the world. ...

(''Neoceratodus forsteri'') is the only surviving member of this genus, but it was formerly much more widespread, being distributed throughout

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. Species were also much more diverse in body plan; for example, the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

species '' Neoceratodus africanus'' was a gigantic species that coexisted with ''

Spinosaurus ''Spinosaurus'' (; ) is a genus of large spinosaurid theropod dinosaurs that lived in what now is North Africa during the Cenomanian faunal stage, stage of the Late Cretaceous Period (geology), period, about 100 to 94 annum, million year ...

'' in what is now the Kem Kem Formation of

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. The earliest fossils from this genus are of ''Neoceratodus potkooroki'' from the mid Cretaceous (

Albian The Albian is both an age (geology), age of the geologic timescale and a stage (stratigraphy), stage in the stratigraphic column. It is the youngest or uppermost subdivision of the Early Cretaceous, Early/Lower Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch/s ...

Cenomanian The Cenomanian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy's (ICS) geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age (geology), age of the Late Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or the lowest stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Upper Cretace ...

) Griman Creek Formation of Australia; remains from the

Late Jurassic The Late Jurassic is the third Epoch (geology), epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time scale, geologic time from 161.5 ± 1.0 to 143.1 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic stratum, strata.Owen ...

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

assigned to this genus probably do not belong to the genus.

Species

The following species are currently classified in this genus: * †'' Neoceratodus africanus'' * †'' Neoceratodus eyrensis'' * '' Neoceratodus forsteri'' (Queensland lungfish) *†'' Neoceratodus potkooroki'' * †'' Neoceratodus nargun'' * †'' Neoceratodus palmeri'' Two species formerly classified in ''Neoceratodus'', ''N. gregoryi'' and ''N. djelleh'', have since been reclassified to the genera '' Mioceratodus'' and '' Archaeoceratodus'' respectively, as '' Mioceratodus gregoryi'' and '' Archaeoceratodus djelleh''.

References

{{Authority control Lobe-finned fish genera Lungfish Extant Late Jurassic first appearances Taxa named by François-Louis Laporte, comte de Castelnau