Ancient Queensland fish ‘close living relative’ to humans, scientists believe

Scientists have cracked the world’s largest animal genome to better understand the evolution of life on land.

Researchers say the Australian lungfish, native to the Burnett and Mary Rivers, is the closest living fish relative to humans and other land dwellers.

A group of European scientists, led by evolutionary biologist professor Axel Meyer from the University of Konstanz in Germany, sequenced 43 billion DNA building blocks, 14 times larger than the human genome.

The sequencing was only made possible through recent technological advancements.

Through analysis of the genetic mapping, the scientists linked the emergence of fish onto land 400 million years ago by observing the lungfish’s physical characteristics, including its…