Osteichthyan-like cranial conditions in an Early Devonian stem gnathostome.

ABSTRACT: The phylogeny of Silurian and Devonian (443-358 million years (Myr) ago) fishes remains the foremost problem in the study of the origin of modern gnathostomes (jawed vertebrates). A central question concerns the morphology of the last common ancestor of living jawed vertebrates, with competing hypotheses advancing either a chondrichthyan- or osteichthyan-like model. Here we present Janusiscus schultzei gen. et sp. nov., an Early Devonian (approximately 415 Myr ago) gnathostome from Siberia previously interpreted as a ray-finned fish, which provides important new information about cranial anatomy near the last common ancestor of chondrichthyans and osteichthyans. The skull roof of Janusiscus resembles that of early osteichthyans, with large plates bearing vermiform ridges and partially encl

SUBMITTER: Giles S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5536226 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature