A three-dimensional placoderm (stem-group gnathostome) pharyngeal skeleton and its implications for primitive gnathostome pharyngeal architecture.

ABSTRACT: The pharyngeal skeleton is a key vertebrate anatomical system in debates on the origin of jaws and gnathostome (jawed vertebrate) feeding. Furthermore, it offers considerable potential as a source of phylogenetic data. Well-preserved examples of pharyngeal skeletons from stem-group gnathostomes remain poorly known. Here, we describe an articulated, nearly complete pharyngeal skeleton in an Early Devonian placoderm fish, Paraplesiobatis heinrichsi Broili, from Hunsrück Slate of Germany. Using synchrotron light tomography, we resolve and reconstruct the three-dimensional gill arch architecture of Paraplesiobatis and compare it with other gnathostomes. The preserved pharyngeal skeleton comprises elements of the hyoid arch (probable ceratohyal) and a series of branchial arches. Limited resolut

SUBMITTER: Brazeau MD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5575467 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature