plane, indicating that Ventastega's skull was low in height. The preopercular in this specimen and several other partial skull fragments is a primitive tetrapod character, otherwise seen only in Ichthyostega, Acanthostega, and Crassigyrinus. The cephalic lateral lines in Ventastega have an intermediate morphology with the lines only being partially enclosed, between the primitive state of full enclosure of the lines in fish and Ichthyostega, and the fully open lines seen in Temnospondyls and other derived tetrapods. The ventral surface of the Ventastega pterygoid is covered is covered in denticles, a feature shared by all early tetrapods except Ichthyostega. Ventastega has a large spiracular notch, larger than seen in any known Devonian tetrapods. The increase in spiracular notch size in Devonian tetrapods has been hypothesized to indicate an increased reliance on air breathing. Braincase A pristinely preserved three-dimensional braincase of Ventastega has been discovered, and closely resembles the braincase of Acanthostega, except Ventastega had a uniquely large and bi-lobed nerve foramen on the anterior face of the prootic, along with an orbit-temporal region immediately dorsal to the basipterygoid processes. Shared features between the two taxa were the shape of the prootic region and its location to the ventral cranial fissure and fenestra vestibuli, along with the basipterygoid processes and laterally open post-temporal fossae. Post-Cranial Elements The clavicle has a broad ventral blade with a narrow stem, characteristic of early tetrapods, along with the stem having a thick anterior and thin posterior lamina that merges into the lateral rod surface. In the iliac blade, there is a pronounced bend/kink approximately one third from the proximal end of the blade, with the distal part of the blade bent dorsally and mesially. The interclavicle is approximately 25% smaller than the clavicle, and similar in shape in a Greererpeton interclavicle, suggesting it had a similar rhomboidal or kite shape. The clavicle itself is similar to the morphology of other early tetrapod clavicles, with a tapering clavicular stem and P-shaped cross section, although it has a unique and distinct unornamented strip along the anterior margin. Classification Ventastega curonica belongs to Tetrapoda in accordance with the traditional definition. According to a strict parsimony phylogeny that ranked 319 characters of tetrapods (defined less inclusively as a crown group) and other tetrapodomorphs, Ventastega is part of the stem-tetrapod group, with 96% bootstrapping consensus at its node (shown below). The group of stem-tetrapods contains any extinct taxon that, according to