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| The 415-million-year-old fish fossil (Janusiscus schultzei) has a well-developed external skeleton (shown in blue), a feature that is seen in the common ancestor of bony fish and cartilaginous fishes, such as sharks.
images: Sam Giles; Placoderm image: K. Trinajstic
DOI: 10.1038/nature14065 |
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 enclosed sensory canals. High-resolution computed tomography (CT) reveals a braincase bearing characters typically associated with either chondrichthyans (large hypophyseal opening accommodating the internal carotid arteries) or osteichthyans (facial nerve exiting through jugular canal, endolymphatic ducts exiting posterior to the skull roof) but lacking a ventral cranial fissure, the presence of which is considered a derived feature of crown gnathostomes. A conjunction of well-developed cranial processes in Janusiscus helps unify the comparative anatomy of early jawed vertebrate neurocrania, clarifying primary homologies in ‘placoderms’, osteichthyans and chondrichthyans. Phylogenetic analysis further supports the chondrichthyan affinities of ‘acanthodians’, and places Janusiscus and the enigmatic Ramirosuarezia in a polytomy with crown gnathostomes. The close correspondence between the skull roof of Janusiscus and that of osteichthyans suggests that an extensive dermal skeleton was present in the last common ancestor of jawed vertebrates4, but ambiguities arise from uncertainties in the anatomy of Ramirosuarezia. The unexpected contrast between endoskeletal structure in Janusiscus and its superficially osteichthyan-like dermal skeleton highlights the potential importance of other incompletely known Siluro-Devonian ‘bony fishes’ for reconstructing patterns of trait evolution near the origin of modern gnathostomes.
Gnathostomata Gegenbaur, 1874
Janusiscus schultzei gen. et sp. nov.
Etymology. Generic name refers to double-sided nature of the specimen, with an osteichthyan-like dorsal skull roof, but a braincase that displays an array of plesiomorphic gnathostome characters (Latin Ianus, the god of doorways and transitions, often depicted as having two faces; [p]iscis, fish). Specific name in honour of Hans-Peter Schultze (University of Kansas), who first described these specimens.
Holotype. GIT (Institute of Geology, Talinn, Estonia) 496-6 (Pi.1384), skull roof and braincase, both missing anterior region
Giles, Sam; Friedman, Matt; Brazeau, Martin D. 2015. Osteichthyan-like Cranial Conditions in an Early Devonian stem Gnathostome. Nature. doi: 10.1038/nature14065L3
Ancient fossil may rewrite fish family tree http://news.sciencemag.org/paleontology/2015/01/ancient-fossil-may-rewrite-fish-family-tree
Birth of Jaws: Tiny Fish May Be Ancient Ancestor http://shar.es/1fHsYF via @LiveScience
