The Late Devonian fossil-fish Lagerstätte of Miguasha

Miguasha National Park, spanning 87.3 hectares, is situated on Chaleurs Bay in eastern Québec. It preserves the fossiliferous cliff of the Late Devonian (Frasnian) Escuminac Formation, where organisms were buried 375 million years ago in an equatorial paleoestuary on the southeast coast of the paleocontinent Laurussia, connected to the Rheic ocean (Cloutier et al., 2011). The site boasts an abundance and diversity of beautifully preserved fossil fish, including specimens of Elpistostege watsoni, a transitional species between fishes and four-limbed vertebrates (Cloutier et al., 2020). This species exhibited fingers embedded in its pectoral fins, as well as gills, lungs, and internal nostrils, enabling it to breathe air. Alongside the fish, terrestrial arthropods and plants, such as scorpions, millipedes, and remains of tree-like ferns, were washed into the estuarine sediments (Cloutier, 2013). Many specimens are complete and fully articulated, some preserved in three dimensions (Cloutier, 2013), others exceptionally-preserved larvae and juveniles (Chevrinais et al.,surprise that Miguasha has been visited by many paleontologists from around the world.