Researchers in Australia have uncovered the oldest record of live birth — viviparity — in any vertebrate (see page 650). The discovery of embryos in fossils of placoderms (ancient, armoured ...

The gnathostome (jawed vertebrate) crown group comprises two extant clades with contrasting character complements. Notably, Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fish) lack the large dermal bones that ...

Placoderms dominated the oceans, rivers and lakes for some 80 million years, before their sudden extinction around 359 million years ago. This is possibly due to the depletion of trace elements in ...

The placoderms had an S-shaped heart similar to that of a shark. It was made up of two chambers, with a smaller one on top and a larger one underneath, and was located at the front of the shoulder ...

A group of scientists have found a fossil of a 419-million-year-old ancient armoured fish, in what is being hailed as the most significant paleontological discovery in decades.

Our study supports the hypothesis on the right, where placoderms are instead a distinct side branch. Benedict King and Brian Choo, Flinders University The iconic placoderm Dunkleosteus.

The placoderms were a diverse group of ancient armoured fishes and it’s widely believed that they are ancestral to virtually all vertebrates alive today, including humans. Placoderms dominated aquatic ...

THE PLACODERMS WERE a diverse group of ancient armoured fishes and it’s widely believed they are ancestral to virtually all vertebrates alive today, including humans. Placoderms dominated aquatic ...

Placoderms started the arms race in the Devonian sea (Source: Esben Horn, 10tons, Martin Rucklin, John Long and Philippe Janvier) ...

You might take it for granted now, but your jaw is the result of an evolutionary journey lasting over 400 million years. Life reconstruction of Qilinyu, a 423-million-year-old fish from the Kuanti ...

And since these placoderms sit near the beginnings of the vertebrate tree of life, "it means that complex forms of mating evolved probably about the same time as jaws evolved," Long told LiveScience.

Placoderms had thick bony plates enveloping the head and trunk regions. They ruled the seas, rivers and lakes of the world for 70 million years, becoming extinct around 360 million years ago.