Editing Protopterus (section)

== Taxonomy ==
The earliest fossils of the Protopteridae come from the [[Late Cretaceous]] ([[Campanian]]-[[Maastrichtian]]) of [[Sudan]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Protopterus protopteroides |url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=91690&is_real_user=1 |access-date=2022-06-03 |website=paleobiodb.org}}</ref> but [[phylogenetic]] evidence indicates that it and Lepidosirenidae split at the very beginning of the [[Early Cretaceous]], around 145 Ma.'''<ref name=":0" />''' Together, their common ancestor diverged from the only other extant lungfishes in [[Neoceratodontidae]] during the [[Late Jurassic]].<ref name=":22">{{Cite journal |last1=Brownstein |first1=Chase Doran |last2=Harrington |first2=Richard C |last3=Near |first3=Thomas J. |date=2023-04-12 |title=The biogeography of extant lungfishes traces the breakup of Gondwana |journal=Journal of Biogeography |volume=50 |issue=7 |pages=1191–1198 |language=en |doi=10.1111/jbi.14609 |issn=0305-0270|doi-access=free |bibcode=2023JBiog..50.1191B }}</ref>

Some papers suggest grouping ''Protopterus'' and ''Lepidosiren'' together in the family Lepidosirenidae, as their Cretaceous divergence is relatively recent compared to the Carboniferous origins of other lungfish families. However, most taxonomic authorities retain them as distinct families.'''<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" />'''