The oldest three-dimensionally preserved vertebrate neurocranium.

ABSTRACT: The neurocranium is an integral part of the vertebrate head, itself a major evolutionary innovation^1,2. However, its early history remains poorly understood, with great dissimilarity in form between the two living vertebrate groups: gnathostomes (jawed vertebrates) and cyclostomes (hagfishes and lampreys)^2,3. The 100 Myr gap separating the Cambrian appearance of vertebrates^4-6 from the earliest three-dimensionally preserved vertebrate neurocrania⁷ further obscures the origins of modern states. Here we use computed tomography to describe the cranial anatomy of an Ordovician stem-group gnathostome: Eriptychius americanus from the Harding Sandstone of Colorado, USA⁸. A fossilized head of Eriptychius preserves a symmetrical set of cartilag

SUBMITTER: Dearden RP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10533405 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature