Osteostraci, the jawless sister group to all jawed vertebrates, had adaptations for passive control of water flow around the body, according to new research led by the University of Bristol. Life restoration of Cephalaspis, a typical osteostracan, swimming over the substrate. Image credit: Hugo Salais, Metazoa Studio. Osteostraci (osteostracans) is …
Read More »Silurian Trilobite
Had Modern Type of Compound Eye Paleontologists have found that Aulacopleura koninckii, a species of trilobite that lived around 429 million years ago (Silurian period), was equipped with a fully modern type of visual system — an apposition compound eye comparable to that of living bees, dragonflies and many diurnal …
Read More »Qilinyu rostrata: Silurian Fish from China Sheds Light on Jaw Evolution
The discovery of a 423-million-year-old fossil in China has shed light on the evolution of the tripartite (three-part) jaw, revealing a previously unknown stage of jaw evolution in placoderms, an extinct group of early fishes. Life reconstruction of Qilinyu along with Guiyu and Entelognathus in Silurian waters. Image credit: Dinghua …
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