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Open Access
Featured
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Exceptional fossil preservation and evolution of the ray-finned fish brain
A well-preserved 319-million-year-old brain of the extinct vertebrate Coccocephalus wildi provides insights into neural anatomy deep within the phylogeny of ray-finned fish.
- Rodrigo T. Figueroa
- , Danielle Goodvin
- & Sam Giles
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Article |
The oldest gnathostome teeth
Direct evidence for the presence of jawed vertebrates in the early Silurian (around 439 million years ago) is provided by isolated tooth whorls of the gnathostome Qianodus duplicis from Guizhou province, China.
- Plamen S. Andreev
- , Ivan J. Sansom
- & Min Zhu
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Article |
Spiny chondrichthyan from the lower Silurian of South China
Fanjingshania renovata possesses dermal shoulder girdle plates and fin spines similar to those of a subset of stem chondrichthyans, but also has osteichthyan-like resorptive shedding of scale odontodes and an absence of odontogenic tissues in its spines.
- Plamen S. Andreev
- , Ivan J. Sansom
- & Min Zhu
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Article
| Open Access
A new elpistostegalian from the Late Devonian of the Canadian Arctic
A new elpistostegalian from the Late Devonian period has been discovered that shows disparity in the group and represents a previously hidden ecological expansion, a secondary return to open water, near the origin of limbed vertebrates.
- Thomas A. Stewart
- , Justin B. Lemberg
- & Neil H. Shubin
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Article |
Non-ammocoete larvae of Palaeozoic stem lampreys
Growth series of Palaeozoic stem lampreys do not include a filter-feeding larval phase seen in modern lampreys, which suggests that modern lamprey larvae are a poor model of vertebrate ancestry.
- Tetsuto Miyashita
- , Robert W. Gess
- & Michael I. Coates
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Article |
Morphology of the earliest reconstructable tetrapod Parmastega aelidae
Three-dimensionally preserved fossils of Parmastega aelidae, a newly described tetrapod from the earliest Famennian (Late Devonian) of Russia, provide detailed insights into the morphology and palaeobiology of the earliest tetrapods.
- Pavel A. Beznosov
- , Jennifer A. Clack
- & Per Erik Ahlberg
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Letter |
Neurocranial development of the coelacanth and the evolution of the sarcopterygian head
Micro-computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of a growth series of the coelacanth Latimeria chalumnae traces the ontogeny of the brain and neurocranium, which sheds light on neurocranial evolution in sarcopterygian fishes.
- Hugo Dutel
- , Manon Galland
- & Marc Herbin
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Letter |
Early members of ‘living fossil’ lineage imply later origin of modern ray-finned fishes
High-resolution scans of fossilized fish skulls suggest that modern ray-finned fishes originated later than previously thought and necessitate reconsideration of the evolution of this major vertebrate group.
- Sam Giles
- , Guang-Hui Xu
- & Matt Friedman
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News |
Transgenic fish swims up regulatory stream
A fast-growing salmon moves closer to US approval after a fishy delay.
- Amy Maxmen
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News |
Fish shoots down prey with super-powered jet
How the Archer fish achieves its incredible spitting power.
- Katherine Harmon
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Research Highlights |
Super-reflective fish skin
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Research Highlights |
Mother's stress slows learning
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News |
Shark species more diverse than thought
Genetic analysis suggests overlooked species, raises concerns about conservation.
- Daniel Cressey
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Letter |
Ecological opportunity and sexual selection together predict adaptive radiation
Adaptive radiation of cichlid fishes in the African Great Lakes is predictable, but only when species traits and environmental factors are jointly considered.
- Catherine E. Wagner
- , Luke J. Harmon
- & Ole Seehausen
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News |
Giant reef fish headbutt rivals to score with the opposite sex
First sighting of ramming behaviour in bumphead parrotfish during competition for females.
- Ewen Callaway
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News & Views |
Stickleback is the catch of the day
Whole-genome sequences from a marine fish that has adjusted to life in fresh water give hints about general genetic mechanisms that drive the evolution of adaptations to new environmental niches. See Article p.55
- Hopi E. Hoekstra
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Research Highlights |
Sawfish snouts sense and stab
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News |
Jawless vertebrate had world's sharpest teeth
Conodonts used minuscule tooth points to apply large pressure to food.
- Alexandra Bell
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Research Highlights |
Antifreeze's role in fish spread
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Research Highlights |
Stripes from shifting cells
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News |
Invasive species turns parasites into hosts
Asian mussels take the advantage from European bitterling fish.
- Jessica Marshall
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Research Highlights |
These fins were made for walking
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Letter
| Open Access
The genome sequence of Atlantic cod reveals a unique immune system
- Bastiaan Star
- , Alexander J. Nederbragt
- & Kjetill S. Jakobsen
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Letter |
Excess digestive capacity in predators reflects a life of feast and famine
- Jonathan B. Armstrong
- & Daniel E. Schindler
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Research Highlights |
Fitter fish lead the pack
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Research Highlights |
Jellyfish eyes on the sky
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News & Views |
When it pays to share decisions
Theory suggests that the accuracy of a decision often increases with the number of decision makers, a phenomenon exploited by betting agents, Internet search engines and stock markets. Fish also use this 'wisdom of the crowd' effect.
- Larissa Conradt
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Letter |
A thymus candidate in lampreys
Jawless fish were recently shown to possess T- and B-like lymphocytes expressing diverse assembled antigen receptors. This study identifies and characterizes lympho-epithelial thymus-like structures at the tips of gill filaments of lamprey larvae, thus providing evidence that the similarities underlying the adaptive immune systems of both types of vertebrate appear to extend to primary lymphoid organs.
- Baubak Bajoghli
- , Peng Guo
- & Thomas Boehm
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Letter |
Competition and phylogeny determine community structure in Müllerian co-mimics
Müllerian mimics have convergently evolved similar warning colouration because of the advantage of strength in numbers. However, it is not clear if this effect is sufficient to maintain coexistence when competitive exclusion would be expected to favour one mimic at the expense of the others. Here, Müllerian mimicry in catfish is characterized, and it is shown through morphometric and stable isotope analysis that mimics do not occupy identical niches, so are not in direct competition, thus explaining their coexistence.
- Markos A. Alexandrou
- , Claudio Oliveira
- & Martin I. Taylor
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Research Highlights |
Zoology: Fish cocoons block biting bugs
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Research Highlights |
Zoology: Fish fly like jets
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News |
Cold empties Bolivian rivers of fish
Antarctic cold snap kills millions of aquatic animals in the Amazon.
- Anna Petherick
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Research Highlights |
Ecology: Predators attract
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Letter |
Loss of fish actinotrichia proteins and the fin-to-limb transition
One of the steps in the evolution of tetrapod limbs was the loss of the distinctive fringe of fin rays and fin folds found in the fins of fishes. It is now shown that two novel proteins, actinodin 1 and 2, are essential structural components of fin rays and fin folds in zebrafish, and are also encoded in the genomes of other teleost fish and at least one species of shark, but not in tetrapods. It is suggested that the loss of these genes may have contributed to the fin-to-limb transition in tetrapod evolution.
- Jing Zhang
- , Purva Wagh
- & Marie-Andrée Akimenko
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News |
Male pipefish abort embryos of ugly mothers
Males show sexual selection before and after copulation.
- Janet Fang
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News |
Shellfish could supplant tree-ring climate data
Temperature records gleaned from clamshells reveal accuracy of Norse sagas.
- Richard A. Lovett
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Research Highlights |
Biology: Secret code
The oldest three-dimensionally preserved vertebrate neurocranium
Why you shouldn't always follow the crowd