UNIT – TWO

The Vertebrates
Definition
• Vertebrates is first appearance into the fossil record
approximately 500 million years ago
• (Ordovician) and are distinguished from the other
members of the phylum Chordata by the presence
of a brain, specialized paired sensory organs ie.
(hearing, sight, smell), and an internal skeleton.
• Vertebrates shared derived features (synapomorphies) that

distinguish the subphylum from invertebrate chordates.

 These vertebrate adaptations include

 cephalization,

 a skeleton that includes a cranium and vertebral column,

and anatomical equipment that supports the active

metabolism required for a more energetic lifestyle.

 Cont.

• Most vertebrates have

• a head, an endoskeleton, a vertebral backbone,

• a skull, ribs, Paired, and lateral appendages

(fins, limbs).
 The first vertebrates – Agnathans

• Agnatha (no jaws")

• is a class or superclass of jawless fish in the phylum Chordata,

• subphylum Vertebrata.

• The group excludes all vertebrates with jaws, known as

gnathostomes.
 Cont…

• Most agnathans, including all those living

today have no paired appendages,

• although they do have a tail and a caudal fin.

• Some fossil agnathans, such as osteostracans,

• did have paired fins, a trait inherited in their

jawed descendants.
 Cont…

• Most are extinct except lamprey and hagfish, which

together forms cyclostomes.
• Agnathans is the1st living group of animals possess
bone. The skeletons were largely cartilage, but many
extinct agnathans had bone in their armor-like scales.
• They lack limbs and limb girdles.
• They retain the notochord throughout life.
 Cont…

• Generally agnathans are characterized by Eel-shaped

body,

• Cartilage skeleton,

• unpaired fins and

• Jawless mouth.
 Classification
• Agnathans (Jawlss fish)
• Gnathostomes ( Jawed fish)
• Agnathans encompass two major groups:
1. ostracoderms (embarrass the first 4 groups) and
2. Cyclostomes (lampreys & hagfishes) – living
agnathans

Major groups include ostracoderms

 heterostraci,

 Coelolepida,
 Osteostracans and Anaspids.
 1. Ostracoderms (Osteostraci, Anaspida,
Heterostraci, & Coelolepid)
• Ostracoderms were the earliest fossil vertebrates
• belong to a group Agnatha
• encased in bony armor (bony shards of carapace) and
• lack true jaws and appendages.
• Related agnathans with external armour occur widely
from the Late Silurian to the Devonian,
• but they all became extinct before the start of the
Carboniferous.
 Cont…

• The osteostracans (‘bone-shelled’) had a broad

triangular bony shield covering the front of the
body.
• Paired pectoral fins and a dorsal fin were present,
and The caudal fin was asymmetrical with a large
upper lobe.
 Cont…

• Generally, Ostracoderms are extinct,

• Have wide varieties of armored jawless fishes

• are known from the very late Cambrian and
• early Ordovician up to near the end of the Devonian
period
• In Devonian period ostracoderms had become
extinct.
• The conodonts survived into the Jurassic and
• a few other agnathans have survived to today.
 Cont…

• First vertebrates to possess bone and

• Have an inner ear with two semicircular canals.

• They did not have a well developed endoskeleton and

• it was usually of cartilage.

• Most ostracoderms were small (10-35 cm in length) and

• Most lacked paired fins so they probably were not
precision /accurate/ swimmers.
• They were jawless with narrow, fixed mouths.
 Cont…

• They have been mainly filter feeders

• that used their pharyngeal muscles to pump water.

• it is likely that they were poor swimmers and

• almost certainly were bottom dwellers that

extracted food from sediments
• many were dorso-ventrally flattened and

• Mostly lacked fins

 Heterostraci/also called the Pteraspida or Diplorhina

• Most heterostraci had head shields formed by the

fusion of large bony plates
• i.e. anterior part of body encased in bony plates,
• The rest of the body behind the head is covered with
small plates and scales.
• None possessed paired fins,
• but some had spines that projected from the head
shield.
 Cont…

• They possessed paired nasal openings and

• a vestibular apparatus with two semicircular canals.

• Size varies from 10 cm to 2 m.

• Openings for lateral paired eyes, and

• median eye or pineal organ.

• a terminal mouth
 2. Anaspids

• appear late in the Silurian and possess much more

flexible body armour made up of small plates

• Their length was about 15cm long

• single median nasal opening

• narrow scale rows dorsal, anal and lateral

projections or folds used for stability

 3. osteostracans

• were also heavily armoured and

• possessed a solid head shield that lacked sutures and
• did not grow after it was formed possible larval form
• that metamorphosed into an adult with a head shield
over time,
• the trend is towards a reduced head shield.
 Cont…

• In some species, anterior lobes projected from the

head shield and are now believed to be homologous to
the pectoral fins of gnathostomes.

• They are closest known relatives of the gnathostomes.

• Shared derived characters to the gnathostomes include

• cellular dermal bone,

 Cont…

• Have pectoral fins with a narrow base, large orbits and

calcified cartilage.

• The whole bodies covered with bone with out

articulated piece (joint).

• They were flattened and possess heterocercal tail,

paired fin-like structures and vary in size.
 4. Thelodonta /also called the Coelolepida/

• Are small in size (10-20 cm) and possess hypocercal

tail, small scales each with a pulp cavity like a tooth
dorso ventrally flattened anteriorly and laterally
compressed posteriorly
 Cont.

• some had laterally projecting flanges where paired

appendages would later appear
• Have lateral placed eyes, pineal opening
• jawless mouth (some may have crushed prey with
internal denticles similar to gill rakers).
• some forms with a well-developed stomach
• More numerous in estuarine environments
 2. Cyclostomata (Petromyzontia/lampreys &
Myxinoidea/hagfishes) – living agnathans

Cyclostomes

• are represented now only by the lampreys that are

parasites on fish parasitic with horny,

• rasping teeth and

• the hagfishes that are primarily scavengers

• feeding on dead or dying animals.

 Cont…

• All of them were found in

• shallow-marine

• rocks, and

• it is generally accepted that the vertebrates originated in

marine conditions.

• Have slender, eel-like body

• Have median fins but lack paired appendages

 Cont…

• Fibrous and cartilaginous skeleton;

• notochord persistent
• Biting mouth with two rows of eversible teeth in
hagfishes and
• sucker-like oral disc with well developed teeth in
lampreys
• Heart with one atrium and
• one ventricle;
 Cont…
• hagfishes with three accessory hearts and aortic
arches in gill region
• Five to 16 pairs of gills and
• a single pair of gill aperture in hagfishes and
• seven pairs of gills in lampreys
 Cont…

• Pronephric kidney interiorly and mesonephric

kidney posteriorly in hagfishes and
mesonephric kidney only in lampreys
• Sense organs of taste, smell, hearing and eyes
poorly developed in hagfishes but moderately
well developed in lampreys;
 Cont….

• One pair of semicircular canals (hagfishes) or two

(lampreys)
• Lampreys and hagfishes lack scales typical of
most fish, and are covered with a slimy mucous
• Include two classes cephalospidomorphi/lampreys
and class myxini/hagfishes
 Class cephalospidomorphi/head with shield form/ Petromyzontoidea (lampreys)

• Is living jawless vertebrate, one of the most

primitive groups of vertebrates.
• phylogenetic position of the lamprey is crucial for
knowing the evolutionary sequence of events in the
history of the vertebrates.
• adult lampreys have relatively large dorsal and
ventral fin on the latter half of their bodies, and
 Cont…

• have a well-developed visual sense

• Parasitic species of lamprey then rasp a hole in the

body wall,
• using rows of keratinized,
• epidermal structures that function like teeth, and a
tongue.
• Teeth-like spines suck out blood and juices,

• use sucker to attach themselves to fishes

 Cont…
• Large, circular mouth, adapted for sucking

• Lacks scales, jaws, gill covers and paired fins

• Nearly all are anadromous (ascends rivers from the sea
to reproduce), move to sea for 1-2 years until mature,
then return to rivers to reproduce and generally die in
fresh water after breeding once.
 Cont…

• Thus they are common inhabitants of marine and

freshwater environment.
• Predaceous on invertebrates, parasitic, or non-feeding

• Many species sensitive to water pollution

• similar in size and shape to hagfishes,
• but are very different
 Cont..

• They lack jaw, paired fins, bones and

• retain the notochord through out life.

• However, unlike hagfishes they have a primitive
vertebral column composed of cartilage that
surround the notochord  
• All are parasitic in that they attach to side of a fish,

• rasp a hole in the skin and suck out bodily fluids

from their victim.
 Cont…

• They do not usually kill their host but detach to leave

it greatly weakened.
• digestive tract is greatly reduced.
• large well-developed eyes
• two semicircular canals on each side of the head
• heart is innervated by the parasympathetic nervous
system
 Cont…

• well-developed kidneys that allow lampreys to be

tolerating a wide range of salinity/
• Spawn and lay eggs in small freshwater stream and
rivers
• Fertilization is external,
• eggs laid in swift streams;
• young hatch into a larval stage called an ammocoete,
 Cont…

• which moves downstream to burrow into the mud in a

quiet part of the stream.
• The larva spends several years burrowed in the mud
and obtains food by filter feeding in a fashion similar to
amphioxus.
• Ammocoete larva is blind, no sucking disc,
• feed on detritus and undergoes metamorphosis to
become adult
 Class Myxini /hagfishes

• Hagfishes are entirely marine animals,

• living in burrows dug into the sediment of the
temperate waters of the continental shelves.
• They have degenerate, non-functional eyes, and
• appear to rely mostly on short, sensory tentacles
around their mouth for detecting their food.
 Cont…

• Hagfishes have a single nostril/nasal opening,

• which water is taken in and used to ventilate the gas-

exchange surfaces of their gill pouches before being

discharged back to the ambient environment through

gill slits. Hagfishes have four distinct blood-pumping

regions in their circulatory system,

 Cont.

• which represent four functional hearts.

• Hagfishes are extremely slimy creatures.

• They secrete large amounts of mucus which is a
deterrent to predators.
• Hagfishes periodically de-slime themselves.
 Cont…

• the sister taxon to all the rest of the Vertebrata

• lack jaw, paired fins, bones and retain the

notochord through out life. But hagfishes do
not have vertebrae and many scientists do not
consider them vertebrates.
 Cont…

• They are included with vertebrates because they

do have a cranium and
• endoskeleton and most zoologists now consider
them to be the most primitive group vertebrates.
• all modern forms are strictly marine and
• body fluid is isotonic with seawater
 Cont…

• Are elongated,scaleless with terminal mouth surrounded

by six tentacles and food is digested in a mucoid bag

• two horny plates in the mouth are used to grasp prey or

help in tearing off pieces of flesh from other vertebrates

(dead ) and have one semicircular canal on each side of

the head

• lay eggs but no larval stage

 2.3 Gnathostomes ( Jawed fish)
• Gnatho = Jaw

• Stomes = mouth

• include jawed fishes and all tetrapods (all other vertebrates);

• usually paired appendages.

• Up to the Silurian period there was no sign of jawed animals.

• As gnathostomes evolve the type of feeding immediately

changed to predatory lifestyle.
 Gnathostomes

• have
1. Agatha - jawless fishes

2. Placodermi - jawed armored fishes (extinct)

3. Chondrichthyes - cartilaginous fishes
4. Osteichthyes - bony fishes

5. Amphibia - Amphibians
6. Reptilia - Reptiles

7. Aves - Birds
8. Mammalia - Mammals
 Class Chondrichthyes

• cartilaginous fishes such as sharks, and rays;

asymmetrical dorso ventrally tail; cartilaginous
skeleton; Five to seven gills with separate openings,
no operculum (covering); no swim bladder.
 Class Osteichthyes (Teleostomi)

• bony fishes;
• primarily fusiform body but variously
modified;
• mostly ossified skeleton;
• single gill opening on each side covered with
an operculum;
• usually a swim bladder or lung.
 Class Amphibia -

• Ectothermic tetrapods;

• respiration by lungs, gills, or through the skin;

• development through larval stage via
metamorphosis; skin moist, containing mucous
glands, and lacking scales.
 Class Reptilia

• Are Ectothermic

• mostly; some are endothermic

• tetrapods;
• respiration by lungs;

• embryo develops within a shelled egg;

• no larval stage;

• skin dry,
• lacking mucous glands, and covered by epidermal scales.
 Class Aves (bird) -
• endothermic

• vertebrates with front limbs modified for flight; body

covered with feathers; scales on feet.
• Class Mammalia - mammals;

• Endothermic

• vertebrates possessing mammary glands;

• body more or less covered with hair;

• well-developed brain.
Superclass Gnathostomata

49
 The origin of jaw and paired fins
Origin of Jaws:
•  One of the most significant changes in early vertebrate
evolution was the development of jaws in primitive fishes.
• Where did these jaws and hyoid arch come from?
• These jaws were the biting device derived from anterior
pharyngeal arches.
• Lampreys and many fossil agnathans (jawless craniates) have
gill pouches supported by a cartilage skeleton called a
branchial basket.
 Cont.

• The branchial basket of lampreys consists of a series of 7

roughly vertical and sinuous/winding bars.

• There are 7 pharyngeal or visceral arches but only 5 branchial

arches.

• The 1st branchial arch is the 3rd pharyngeal arch, etc.

• There are even some vertebrate morphologists that think there

are primitively 9 or 10 arches.

• The gills are medial to the bars.

 Cont…

• The lamprey has a velar skeleton anterior and medial to

the branchial basket.

• The velar skeleton supports the velum, which is a

water pumping organ.

• In general vertebrate jaws are derivatives of ancient

gill arches and the best evidence is the embryological

stages.
Generally the origin of jaws is associated with
hypothesis
1. from one of anterior pair of gill arches.

a. In sharks, jaws and branchial arches develop similarly in

series.

b. Spiracle appears to be a reduced gill slit that was crowded

forward by enlarged hyoid arch.

c. Similar nerve and blood vessel distribution patterns. d.

Musculature appears to be modified branchial arch
musculature.
 2. Alternate hypotheses:
`

      a. Serial theory: first or second branchial arch

mandibular arch.
 Next branchial arch hyoid arch

b. Composite theory: mandibular arch derived from

losses or fusions of parts of several anterior branchial
arches.
 Evidence for the jaws from arch theory:

• development of shark shows that mandibular and

• hyoid arch develop in series with branchial arches
• mandibular, hyoid, and branchial arches derived from
neural crest
• manidbular, hyoid, and branchial arch muscles
derived from head mesoderm (somitomeres).
• pharyngeal slit between mandibular and hyoid arch
retained as spiracle/auditory tube
 Origin of paired fins
• Paired fins are specialized flaps of the body wall that
serve as steering/navigating organs in swimming (the
main force coming from muscles in the trunk).
• There is still no certainty about the origin of true,
paired fins.
• However, Anaspids have lateral fin folds running all
the way down the sides of the body and
• it is assumed that true fins evolved by the segmental
loss of parts of this fold (Anaspids).
 Types of; caudal fins, scales, jaw suspension,
dentition and vertebral articulation in the different
gnathostomes
• Types of fins

• Fins are the most distinctive features of a fish,

• composed of bony spines protruding from the body.
• Skin covers and joining them together, either in a webbed
fashion (most bony fish) or
• more similar to a flipper (sharks).
 Cont….
• Usually serve as a means for swimming and

• can also used for gliding or crawling, as seen in the

flying fish and frogfish.
• Fins located in different places on the fish and serve
different purposes, such as moving forward,
• turning, and keeping an upright position.

• The different types of fins are illustrated in the

following diagram.
Figure. The Anatomy Of Lampanyctodes Hectoris
(1) Operculum (Gill Cover), (2) Lateral Line, (3) Dorsal Fin, (4)
Fat Fin, (5) Caudal Peduncle, (6) Caudal Fin, (7) Anal Fin, (8)
Photophores, (9) Pelvic Fins (Paired), (10) Pectoral Fins (Paired)
 Dorsal fins-
• are located on the back.
• The dorsal fins serve to protect the fish against
rolling, and assist in sudden turns and stops.
• The anal fin- is located on the ventral surface behind
the anus.
• This fin is used to stabilize the fish while swimming.
• The paired pectoral fins- are located on each side,
usually just behind the operculum, and
• are homologous to the forelimbs of tetrapods.
 Cont…

• A peculiar function of pectoral fins,

• highly developed in some fish,
• is the creation of the dynamic lifting force that assists some
fish, such as sharks,
• in maintaining depth and also enables the "flight" for
flying fish.
• In many fish, the pectoral fins aid in walking, especially in the
lobe-like fins of some anglerfish and in the mudskipper.
• Certain rays of the pectoral fins may be adapted into finger-
like projections.
Figure. Body position of a fish
 The paired pelvic or ventral fins-

• are located ventrally below the pectoral fins.

• They are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods.

• The pelvic fin assists the fish in going up or down through the
water, turning sharply, and stopping quickly.

• The adipose fin- is a soft, fleshy fin found on the back behind the
dorsal fin and just forward of the caudal fin.

• It is absent in many fish families, but is found in Salmonidae,

characins and catfishes.

• The caudal fin- is the tail fin, located at the end of the caudal
peduncle and is used for propulsion.
 Type of caudal fins-

the caudal fin is the tail fin, located at the end of

the caudal peduncle and is used for propulsion.
The caudal fins divided into:
• Heterocercal tail (diagram “A” below)- in which the
vertebrae extend into a larger lobe of the tail or that the tail is
asymmetrical.
• It is an ancient form, possessed by only a few primitive fishes,
such as sharks, sturgeon, and paddlefish.
 Cont…
• It was a necessary tail shape

• when fishes had no swim bladders and were heavy in the

front;
• if the fish tried to use a symmetrical tail, it would have
plunged toward the bottom.
• Instead, it developed a tail with a deliberately downward-
driving design and supplemented it with horizontal, plane-
like pectoral fins that transformed that downward force
into a horizontal, forward-driving force.
 Heterocercal fin can be:

• Epicercal means that the upper lobe is longer

(as in sharks) (A)
• Hypocercal means that the lower lobe is
longer (as in flying fish)
 Protocercal tail (B)

• The caudal fin extends around the vertebral

column
• i.e. the notochord extends till the tip of tail and
• divide caudal fin into two equal parts.
• E.g. embryonic fish and hagfish.
Figure.Types of caudal
fins • (A)
Heterocercal,
• (B) Protocercal,
• (C) Homocercal,
• (D) Diphycercal
 Diphycercal tail (D)

• - refers to the special,

• three-lobed caudal fin of lungfish where the vertebrae
extend all the way to the end of the tail.
• Homocercal tail (C)-is modern development and most
common type of caudal fin.
• Most fish have this type of tail, where the vertebrae do not
extend into a lobe and the fin is more or less symmetrical.
• This can be expressed in a variety of shapes.
 Cont…
• The tail fin may be
• rounded at the end.
• truncated, or end in a more-or-less vertical edge
(such as in salmon).
• forked, or end in two prongs.
• emarginate, or with a slight inward curve.
• lunate, or shaped like a crescent moon.
 Spines and rays-
• In bony fish, most fins may have spines or rays.

• A fin can contain only spiny rays, only soft rays, or a

combination of both.
• If both are present, the spiny rays are always
anterior.
• Spines are generally stiff and sharp.

• Spines may be flexible in certain species, but they

will never be segmented.
• Spines have a variety of uses.
 Cont…
• Many fishes also use spines to lock themselves in
crevices to prevent them being pulled out.
• Spines may be found almost anywhere on the body,
and are used primarily for defense.
• Spines may have painful poisons in them,
• such as those of the catfish, or simply be annoying
because they are sharp and serrated.
 Cont…

• Rays are generally soft,

• flexible,
• segmented, and may be branched.
• This segmentation of rays is the main
difference that separates them from spines.
 Types of Scale-

• the outer body of many fish is covered with scales,

which haveevolved over time and are of major
importance in classifying fishes.

• Most scales are deeply buried in the fish's epidermis,

or outer skin layer, with only part of them showing.
Some species are covered by scutesinstead of scales.
 Cont….

• Others have no outer covering on the skin; these are called

naked fish.
• Most fish are covered in a protective layer of slime (mucus).
• Scales are grouped into four categories based on their
material composition.
• These four common types of scales are shown in the figure
below, and below each scale type is an illustration of what
they would look like on the fish.  
 Thpe of scale

•   Ganoid

• Placoid

• Cycloid

• Ctenoid
 Types of Jaw suspension

• Evolution of jaw is often traced through how the

mandible is attached to the skull.
• Since the jaws are primitively separate from the
neurocranium within the head skeleton,
• they need some way to attach, or
• be suspended from, the chondrocranium.
• Otherwise, when the lower jaw muscles
shorten, the entire jaw would elevate toward
the skull instead of the lower jaw relative to the
upper jaw.
• The points at which the jaws attach to the skull
define the type of jaw suspension.
Figure. Variation in the suspension of vertebrate jaws
 Cont…

• Paleostyly: found in agnathans and no suspension

• i.e. none of the arches attach directly to the skull

• e.g. agnathans

• Euautostyly: is the earliest jawed condition where the

mandibular arch is suspended from the skull by itself with out
help from hyoid arch

• e.g. placoderms and acanthodians

 Metautostyly

• jaws attached to braincase directly through quadrate

• (a bone formed in posterior part of palatoquadrate)

and

• the hyomandibula plays no part in supporting the jaw

• e.g.

• most amphibians, reptiles and birds.

 Cont…

• Hyomandibula not involved in jaw suspension;

instead gives rise to columella (stapes),
• which is involved in hearing.
• Other elements of second and third arches contribute
to hyoid apparatus that supports tongue & floor of
mouth.
 Amphistyly
• dual suspension by palatoquadrate and hyomandibula.
• The jaws are attached to the braincase through two primary
articulations
• Anteriorly by a ligament connecting the palatoquadrate to
the skull
• Posteriorly by the hyomnandibula
• e.g. primitive fishes such as sharks, some osteichthyes,
crossopterygians,
 Hyostyly

• suspension by hyomandibula

• i.e. the mandibular arch is attached to the braincase primarily

through the hyomandibula, which provides more mobile upper
jaw
• e.g. most modern bony fish.
• New dermal bone, symplectic bone, may aid in jaw
suspension.
• e.g. Modified hyostyly of teleosts.
 Craniostyly
• entire upper jaw is incorporated into braincase and
lower jaw articulates with squamosal bone (dermal
origin)

• e.g. mammals Lower jaw consists of pair of dentary

bones (dermal origin).
 Cont…

• Shift from articular/quadrate to dentary/squamosal jaw joint.

• Palatoquadrate and Meckel's cartilages give rise to quadrate

and        articular elements, which ultimately become the
incus and malleus of        the middle ear.

• Therefore, in mammals, the splanchnocranium does not

contribute to jaws or their suspension.

• Does contribute to hyoid apparatus and middle ear bones.

 dentition and vertebral articulation
• Dentition-is a set of teeth.

• It is the number, type and position of teeth present in any

given species.
• Attachment of teeth to the bone socket Acrodont condition-
dentition in which the teeth with shallow sockets and teeth
attached to the crest of the bone
• e.g. fishes, amphibians, some reptiles such as
snakesPleurodont condition-teeth attached to the medial side
of the bone
• e.g. lizards
 Thecodont condition
• teeth sunken/inserted into the sockets within the bone
• e.g. crocodiles and mammalsShape of teeth (type and
structure of teeth)
• Homodont teeth-is dentition in which the teeth are similar in
general appearance
• i.e. one type of teeth) throughout the mouth

• e.g. fishes, amphibians, reptiles and some mammals

• Heterodont teeth-the teeth are different in general appearance
which include Incisors, canines, premolars and molars
• e.g. mammals
 Composition-

• a single tooth may consist of crown, neck and root as well

as enamel, dentine, pulp cavity and cementum Cusp
morphology
• One-cusp on tooth and the teeth are occlude in alternation
• e.g. non-mammals

• Two or more cusps on tooth

• e.g. mammalschewing surface-

 Cont.

• bunodont teeth-cusps form round peak or ridges

• e.g. omnivorous
• lophodont teeth-cusps drawn out into ridges
• e.g. perissodactyls

• selenodont teeth-crescent-shaped cusps e.g.

artiodactyls sectodont teeth
• e.g. carnivores
 Vertebral articulation-

• is the articulation of bones in vertebral column.

• In most fishes, the vertebral column is differentiated into two

regions:

• an anterior trunk and a posterior caudal region

• In tetrapods, the trunk becomes further differentiated

anterirorly into the neck or cervical region and a posteriorly

into the hip or caudal region

 Con…

• Try to define the following terminologies:

zygoaphysis (prezygoaphysis and post

zygoaphysis),

• paraphysis and

• diaphysis.
 The first Gnathostomes – Placoderms (plated skin), Earliest
jawed vertebrates

• Placoderms (plated skin), were named for their heavy

armor of dermal bone,
• which formed large shields on the head and thorax.
• The rest of their bodies was covered with small bony
scales or was without dental armor.
• appear in the Early Silurian and extinct by end of the
Devonian
• were armored jawed fishes
 Cont…

• The head and trunk shields of most placoderms were

articulated by bony joints,
• which apparently allowed the forward part of the skull to tilt
up, increasing the gape.
• Occur first in marine deposits, then freshwater

• Reduction in dermal armor

• possibly pelvic claspers
 Cont…

• the sister taxon to all other jawed vertebrates

(Eugnathostomata)
• Unique jaw musculature with the muscles median to the
palatoquadrates (the upper jaw elements).
• This is opposite of all other jawed vertebrates where the
muscles are external to the palatoquadrates.
• This also indicates that jaws may have evolved twice in
the evolution of the vertebrates.
 Cont…
• upper jaws were attached tightly to the cranium or head
shield,
• which limited the mobility of the jaws
• No teeth that resemble those of other jawed vertebrates,
• but biting or grinding structures are often be found in the
dermal bones lining their mouths.
• only some individuals within a species had pelvic
appendages,
• which indicate they were male and that the species had
internal fertilization
• hyoid arch is different from other gnathostomes
 Cont…

• The head region was covered with thick dermal bone.

• Some forms had a moveable joint between the plates
where the neck would be, which allowed the jaws to be
opened very wide.
• Many were torpedo/missile-shaped, but there were
notable exceptions,
• including the flatten Phyllolepida and the bottom
feeding Antiarchi.
• Most placoderms were less than 30 cm (2 feet) in length,
• but some members of the dinichthyids (= terrible fish)
reached or exceeded 6 m (20 ft), making them the first
giants of the vertebrate lineage.
Figure. External appearance of Placoderm
• THE END