The new discovery unearthed new fish species from the Silurian Period.
The last paper details the fossil teeth of a previously unknown shark relative called, which dates back to around 439 million years ago as well. This discovery replaces the earliest known example of gnathostome teeth, which also extends the minimum age for the origin of vertebrate jaws and dentitions by nearly 14 million years.Molecular studies suggest that the origin of jawed vertebrates was no later than the Late Ordovician period )1,2.
The dearth of articulated, whole-body fossils from before the late Silurian has long rendered the earliest history of jawed vertebrates obscure. Here we report a newly discovered Konservat-Lagerstätte, which is marked by the presence of diverse, well-preserved jawed fishes with complete bodies, from the early Silurian of Chongqing, South China. The dominant species, a ‘placoderm’ or jawed stem gnathostome, which we name Xiushanosteus mirabilis gen. et sp. nov.