The oldest three-dimensionally preserved vertebrate neurocranium.

The neurocranium is an integral part of the vertebrate head, itself a major evolutionary innovation1,2. 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 vertebrates4-6 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 cartilages that we interpret as the preorbital neurocranium, enclosing the fronts of laterally placed orbits, terminally located mouth, olfactory bulbs and pineal organ. This suggests that, in the earliest gnathostomes, the neurocranium filled out the space between the dermal skeleton and brain, like in galeaspids, osteostracans and placoderms and unlike in cyclostomes2. However, these cartilages are not fused into a single neurocranial unit, suggesting that this is a derived gnathostome trait. Eriptychius fills a major temporal and phylogenetic gap in our understanding of the evolution of the gnathostome head, revealing a neurocranium with an anatomy unlike that of any previously described vertebrate.

The oldest gnathostome teeth.

Mandibular teeth and dentitions are features of jawed vertebrates that were first acquired by the Palaeozoic ancestors1-3 of living chondrichthyans and osteichthyans. The fossil record currently points to the latter part of the Silurian period4-7 (around 425 million years ago) as a minimum date for the appearance of gnathostome teeth and to the evolution of growth and replacement mechanisms of mandibular dentitions in the subsequent Devonian period2,8-10. Here we provide, to our knowledge, the earliest direct evidence for jawed vertebrates by describing Qianodus duplicis, a new genus and species of an early Silurian gnathostome based on isolated tooth whorls from Guizhou province, China. The whorls possess non-shedding teeth arranged in a pair of rows that demonstrate a number of features found in modern gnathostome groups. These include lingual addition of teeth in offset rows and maintenance of this patterning throughout whorl development. Our data extend the record of toothed gnathostomes by 14 million years from the late Silurian into the early Silurian (around 439 million years ago) and are important for documenting the initial diversification of vertebrates. Our analyses add to mounting fossil evidence that supports an earlier emergence of jawed vertebrates as part of the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event (approximately 485-445 million years ago).

Spiny chondrichthyan from the lower Silurian of South China.

Modern representatives of chondrichthyans (cartilaginous fishes) and osteichthyans (bony fishes and tetrapods) have contrasting skeletal anatomies and developmental trajectories1-4 that underscore the distant evolutionary split5-7 of the two clades. Recent work on upper Silurian and Devonian jawed vertebrates7-10 has revealed similar skeletal conditions that blur the conventional distinctions between osteichthyans, chondrichthyans and their jawed gnathostome ancestors. Here we describe the remains (dermal plates, scales and fin spines) of a chondrichthyan, Fanjingshania renovata gen. et sp. nov., from the lower Silurian of China that pre-date the earliest articulated fossils of jawed vertebrates10-12. Fanjingshania possesses dermal shoulder girdle plates and a complement of fin spines that have a striking anatomical similarity to those recorded in a subset of stem chondrichthyans5,7,13 (climatiid 'acanthodians'14). Uniquely among chondrichthyans, however, it demonstrates osteichthyan-like resorptive shedding of scale odontodes (dermal teeth) and an absence of odontogenic tissues in its spines. Our results identify independent acquisition of these conditions in the chondrichthyan stem group, adding Fanjingshania to an increasing number of taxa7,15 nested within conventionally defined acanthodians16. The discovery of Fanjingshania provides the strongest support yet for a proposed7 early Silurian radiation of jawed vertebrates before their widespread appearance5 in the fossil record in the Lower Devonian series.

The three-dimensionally articulated oral apparatus of a Devonian heterostracan sheds light on feeding in Palaeozoic jawless fishes.

Attempts to explain the origin and diversification of vertebrates have commonly invoked the evolution of feeding ecology, contrasting the passive suspension feeding of invertebrate chordates and larval lampreys with active predation in living jawed vertebrates. Of the extinct jawless vertebrates that phylogenetically intercalate these living groups, the feeding apparatus is well-preserved only in the early diverging stem-gnathostome heterostracans. However, its anatomy remains poorly understood. Here, we use X-ray microtomography to characterize the feeding apparatus of the pteraspid heterostracan Rhinopteraspis dunensis (Roemer, 1855). The apparatus is composed of 13 plates arranged approximately bilaterally, most of which articulate from the postoral plate. Our reconstruction shows that the oral plates were capable of rotating around the transverse axis, but likely with limited movement. It also suggests the nasohypophyseal organs opened internally, into the pharynx. The functional morphology of the apparatus in Rhinopteraspis precludes all proposed interpretations of feeding except for suspension/deposit feeding and we interpret the apparatus as having served primarily to moderate the oral gape. This is consistent with evidence that at least some early jawless gnathostomes were suspension feeders and runs contrary to macroecological scenarios that envisage early vertebrate evolution as characterized by a directional trend towards increasingly active food acquisition.

An early chondrichthyan and the evolutionary assembly of a shark body plan.

Although relationships among the major groups of living gnathostomes are well established, the relatedness of early jawed vertebrates to modern clades is intensely debated. Here, we provide a new description of Gladbachus, a Middle Devonian (Givetian approx. 385-million-year-old) stem chondrichthyan from Germany, and one of the very few early chondrichthyans in which substantial portions of the endoskeleton are preserved. Tomographic and histological techniques reveal new details of the gill skeleton, hyoid arch and jaws, neurocranium, cartilage, scales and teeth. Despite many features resembling placoderm or osteichthyan conditions, phylogenetic analysis confirms Gladbachus as a stem chondrichthyan and corroborates hypotheses that all acanthodians are stem chondrichthyans. The unfamiliar character combination displayed by Gladbachus, alongside conditions observed in acanthodians, implies that pre-Devonian stem chondrichthyans are severely under-sampled and strongly supports indications from isolated scales that the gnathostome crown group originated at the latest by the early Silurian (approx. 440 Ma). Moreover, phylogenetic results highlight the likely convergent evolution of conventional chondrichthyan conditions among earliest members of this primary gnathostome division, while skeletal morphology points towards the likely suspension feeding habits of Gladbachus, suggesting a functional origin of the gill slit condition characteristic of the vast majority of living and fossil chondrichthyans.

The skeletal completeness of the Palaeozoic chondrichthyan fossil record.

Chondrichthyes (sharks, rays, ratfish and their extinct relatives) originated and diversified in the Palaeozoic but are rarely preserved as articulated or partly articulated remains because of their predominantly cartilaginous endoskeletons. Consequently, their evolutionary history is perceived to be documented predominantly by isolated teeth, scales and fin spines. Here, we aim to capture and analyse the quality of the Palaeozoic chondrichthyan fossil record by using a variation of the skeletal completeness metric, which calculates how complete the skeletons of individuals are compared to estimates of their original entirety. Notably, chondrichthyan completeness is significantly lower than any published vertebrate group: low throughout the Silurian and Permian but peaking in the Devonian and Carboniferous. Scores increase to a range similar to pelycosaurs and parareptiles only when taxa identified solely from isolated teeth, scales and spines are excluded. We argue that environmental influences probably played an important role in chondrichthyan completeness. Sea level significantly negatively correlates with chondrichthyan completeness records and resembles patterns already evident in records of ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs and sauropodomorphs. Such observed variations in completeness highlight the impact of different sampling biases on the chondrichthyan fossil record and the need to acknowledge these when inferring patterns of chondrichthyan macroevolution.

Cutting the first 'teeth': a new approach to functional analysis of conodont elements.

The morphological disparity of conodont elements rivals the dentition of all other vertebrates, yet relatively little is known about their functional diversity. Nevertheless, conodonts are an invaluable resource for testing the generality of functional principles derived from vertebrate teeth, and for exploring convergence in a range of food-processing structures. In a few derived conodont taxa, occlusal patterns have been used to derive functional models. However, conodont elements commonly and primitively exhibit comparatively simple coniform morphologies, functional analysis of which has not progressed much beyond speculation based on analogy. We have generated high-resolution tomographic data for each morphotype of the coniform conodont Panderodus acostatus. Using virtual cross sections, it has been possible to characterize changes in physical properties associated with individual element morphology. Subtle changes in cross-sectional profile have profound implications for the functional performance of individual elements and the apparatus as a whole. This study has implications beyond the ecology of a single conodont taxon. It provides a basis for reinterpreting coniform conodont taxonomy (which is based heavily on cross-sectional profiles), in terms of functional performance and ecology, shedding new light on the conodont fossil record. This technique can also be applied to more derived conodont morphologies, as well as analogous dentitions in other vertebrates and invertebrates.

Early Silurian chondrichthyans from the Tarim Basin (Xinjiang, China).

The Sinacanthida ordo nov. and Mongolepidida are spine- and scale-based taxa whose remains encompass some of the earliest reported fossils of chondrichthyan fish. Investigation of fragmentary material from the Early Silurian Tataertag and Ymogantau Formations of the Tarim Basin (Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China) has revealed a diverse mongolepidid and sinacanthid fauna dominated by mongolepids and sinacanthids in association with abundant dermoskeletal elements of the endemic 'armoured' agnathans known as galeaspids. Micro-computed tomography, scanning electron microscopy and histological sections were used to identify seven mongolepid genera (including Tielikewatielepis sinensis gen. et sp. nov., Xiaohaizilepis liui gen. et sp. nov. and Taklamakanolepis asiaticus gen. et sp. nov.) together with a new chondrichthyan (Yuanolepis bachunensis gen. et sp. nov.) with scale crowns consisting of a mongolepid-type atubular dentine (lamellin). Unlike the more elaborate crown architecture of mongolepids, Yuanolepis gen. nov. exhibits a single row of crown elements consistent with the condition reported in stem chondrichthyans from the Lower Devonian (e.g. in Seretolepis, Parexus). The results corroborate previous work by recognising lamellin as the main component of sinacanthid spines and point to corresponding developmental patterns shared across the dermal skeleton of taxa with lamellin and more derived chondrichthyans (e.g. Doliodus, Kathemacanthus, Seretolepis and Parexus). The Tarim mongolepid fauna is inclusive of coeval taxa from the South China Block and accounts for over two-thirds of the species currently attributed to Mongolepidida. This demonstrates considerable overlap between the Tarim and South China components of the Lower Silurian Zhangjiajie Vertebrate Fauna.

The nearshore cradle of early vertebrate diversification.

Ancestral vertebrate habitats are subject to controversy and obscured by limited, often contradictory paleontological data. We assembled fossil vertebrate occurrence and habitat datasets spanning the middle Paleozoic (480 million to 360 million years ago) and found that early vertebrate clades, both jawed and jawless, originated in restricted, shallow intertidal-subtidal environments. Nearshore divergences gave rise to body plans with different dispersal abilities: Robust fishes shifted shoreward, whereas gracile groups moved seaward. Fresh waters were invaded repeatedly, but movement to deeper waters was contingent upon form and short-lived until the later Devonian. Our results contrast with the onshore-offshore trends, reef-centered diversification, and mid-shelf clustering observed for benthic invertebrates. Nearshore origins for vertebrates may be linked to the demands of their mobility and may have influenced the structure of their early fossil record and diversification.

The systematics of the Mongolepidida (Chondrichthyes) and the Ordovician origins of the clade.

The Mongolepidida is an Order of putative early chondrichthyan fish, originally erected to unite taxa from the Lower Silurian of Mongolia. The present study reassesses mongolepid systematics through the examination of the developmental, histological and morphological characteristics of scale-based specimens from the Upper Ordovician Harding Sandstone (Colorado, USA) and the Upper Llandovery-Lower Wenlock Yimugantawu (Tarim Basin, China), Xiushan (Guizhou Province, China) and Chargat (north-western Mongolia) Formations. The inclusion of the Mongolepidida within the Class Chondrichthyes is supported on the basis of a suite of scale attributes (areal odontode deposition, linear odontocomplex structure and lack of enamel, cancellous bone and hard-tissue resorption) shared with traditionally recognized chondrichthyans (euchondrichthyans, e.g., ctenacanthiforms). The mongolepid dermal skeleton exhibits a rare type of atubular dentine (lamellin) that is regarded as one of the diagnostic features of the Order within crown gnathostomes. The previously erected Mongolepididae and Shiqianolepidae families are revised, differentiated by scale-base histology and expanded to include the genera Rongolepisand Xinjiangichthys, respectively. A newly described mongolepid species (Solinalepis levis gen. et sp. nov.) from the Ordovician of North America is treated as family incertae sedis, as it possesses a type of basal bone tissue (acellular and vascular) that has yet to be documented in other mongolepids. This study extends the stratigraphic and palaeogeographic range of Mongolepidida and adds further evidence for an early diversification of the Chondrichthyes in the Ordovician Period, 50 million years prior to the first recorded appearance of euchondrichthyan teeth in the Lower Devonian.

Origin and early evolution of vertebrate skeletonization.

Data from living and extinct faunas of primitive vertebrates imply very different scenarios for the origin and evolution of the dermal and oral skeletal developmental system. A direct reading of the evolutionary relationships of living primitive vertebrates implies that the dermal scales, teeth, and jaws arose synchronously with a cohort of other characters that could be considered unique to jawed vertebrates: the dermoskeleton is primitively composed of numerous scales, each derived from an individual dental papilla; teeth are primitively patterned such that they are replaced in a classical conveyor-belt system. The paleontological record provides a unique but complementary perspective in that: 1) the organisms in which the skeletal system evolved are extinct and we have no recourse but to fossils if we aim to address this problem; 2) extinct organisms can be classified among, and in the same way as, living relatives; 3) a holistic approach to the incorporation of all data provides a more complete perspective on early vertebrate evolution. This combined approach is of no greater significance than in dealing with the origin of the skeleton and, combined with recent discoveries and new phylogenetic analyses, we have been able to test and reject existing hypotheses for the origin of the skeleton and erect a new model in their place.

The tail of the Ordovician fish Sacabambaspis.

The tail of the earliest known articulated fully skeletonized vertebrate, the arandaspid Sacabambaspis from the Ordovician of Bolivia, is redescribed on the basis of further preparation of the only specimen in which it is most extensively preserved. The first, but soon discarded, reconstruction, which assumed the presence of a long horizontal notochordal lobe separating equal sized dorsal and ventral fin webs, appears to have considerable merit. Although the ventral web is significantly smaller than the dorsal one, the presence of a very long notochordal lobe bearing a small terminal web is confirmed. The discrepancy in the size of the ventral and dorsal webs rather suggests that the tail was hypocercal, a condition that would better accord with the caudal morphology of the living agnathans and the other jawless stem gnathostomes.

Histology and affinity of the earliest armoured vertebrate.

Arandaspids are the earliest skeletonizing vertebrates known from articulated remains. Despite a wealth of data, their affinity remains questionable because they exhibit a random mixture of primitive and derived characteristics. We constrain the affinity of arandaspids by providing the first detailed characterization of their dermoskeleton which is revealed to be three-layered, composed of a basal laminated, cancellous middle and tubercular superficial layers. All three layers are composed of acellular bone but the superficial layer also includes dentine and enameloid, comprising the tubercles. As such, the composition of the arandaspid dermoskeleton is common to heterostracans and astraspids, supporting existing hypotheses of early vertebrate phylogeny. This emphasizes the peculiarity of existing interpretations of aranadaspid anatomy and there is need for a complete reappraisal of the existing anatomical data.