How Fish Developed Jaws

The evolution of the jaw is one of the most significant innovations in vertebrate history. A jaw allowed vertebrates to exploit a wide range of food and engage in predation and defense. Jawed vertebrates arose from non-jawed vertebrates that had a pharyngeal gill apparatus composed of gill bars and slits. Anterior gill bars evolved into … Read more

Muscle – Jawed fishes

Introduction Striated muscle The neuromuscular junction Mechanical properties Cardiac muscle Striated muscle Jawed fishes The sharks and other cartilaginous fishes (the class Chondrichthyes) have modified the structure of the first two arches; the cartilages of the anterior arch form the mandible and upper jaw (palatoquadrate), and modifications also have taken place in the second, hyoid … Read more

Tooth Types & Patches

Similar to other animals, fish have evolved to have different types of teeth depending on their diets. For example, most fish that eat other fish (carnivores) have teeth that are designed to puncture, hold on to, and cut their prey whereas most fish that eat plants (herbivores) have teeth that are more suited for shredding … Read more

Amazing New Fossils Provide Earliest Known Traces of The Evolution of Our Jaws And Limbs

Road excavations in China’s Guizhou Province have unearthed a trove of ancient fish fossils. As a part of rock layers known as the Rongxi Formation, the new fossil bed is filled with never-before-seen species that push back the dates of our first jawed animal ancestors by about 15 million years. “Until this point, we’ve picked … Read more

Wikipedia

Fish jaw Most bony fishes have two sets of jaws made mainly of bone. The primary oral jaws open and close the mouth, and a second set of pharyngeal jaws are positioned at the back of the throat. The oral jaws are used to capture and manipulate prey by biting and crushing. The pharyngeal jaws, … Read more

Lamprey fish have terrifying teeth and no jaw — but there’s a global movement to save this living fossil

Lamprey fish have terrifying teeth and no jaw — but there’s a global movement to save this living fossil The blood-sucking, ancient lamprey might look spooky, but its evolutionary and culinary history is setting fishermen, conservationists, and chefs across the globe on a mission to preserve the living fossils in decline. Key points: Lamprey have … Read more