Gnathostomata
Gnathostomata is the group of vertebrates with jaws.
Gnathostomata Temporal range: Ordovician - Recent
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Megalodon jaws | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
Infraphylum: | Gnathostomata |
The group was meant to include all jawed fish, but in modern fashion it also includes all the tetrapods as well, since they evolved from jawed fish. It is the sister group of the Agnatha, the jawless vertebrates.
The Gnathostomata first appeared in the Ordovician period and became diverse in the Devonian period, the 'Age of Fishes'. Land vertebrates appeared in the Carboniferous period.
Subgroups
- Chondrichthyes cartilaginous fish
- Acanthodii† 'spiny sharks'
- Placoderms† armoured fish
- Osteichthyes bony fish
- Actinopterygii ray-finned fish
- Sarcopterygii lobe-finned fish and land vertebrates (tetrapods)
Gnathostomata Media
Acanthodes bronni, an acanthodian from the Early Permian of Germany, pencil drawing Ref : Janvier, P. (2001) "Ostracoderms and the shaping of gnathostome characters" in Ahlberg, P.E. , ed. Major Events in Early Vertebrate Evolution: Palaeontology, Phylogeny, Genetics and Development, CRC Press, p. 175
Wikispecies has information on: Gnathostomata. |