μCT-aided study illuminates the cranial endoskeleton and interrelationships of the Permian actinopterygian †Brachydegma, which is now excluded from crown neopterygians despite exhibiting a double jaw joint.
Lara Maldanis, Murilo Carvalho ... José Xavier-Neto
The discovery of a fossil heart in Rhacolepis buccalis demonstrates that it is possible to scrutinize the fossil record for important clues on cardiac structure and evolution.
Stunning new scan data of an enigmatic fish from the Early Devonian of Australia, Ligulalepis, is identified as a stem osteichthyan, specifically, as the sister taxon to the 'psarolepids' plus crown osteichthyans.
Unique heterochrony in the cranial segments in bichirs triggers the early formation of their external gills, and might be informative about developmental mechanisms facilitating increased breathing capacity.
Camila Cupello, Tatsuya Hirasawa ... Paulo M Brito
The primitive state of vertebrate lungs is unpaired, evolving to be truly paired in the lineage towards the tetrapods, increasing the pulmonary efficiency during the water-to-land transition.
Jonas Maurice Holzinger, Martina Toelge ... Sigrid Bülow
Bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein (BPI) from the scorpionfish Sebastes schlegelii escapes detection by BPI autoantibodies derived from people with cystic fibrosis and reveals excellent anti-inflammatory potency as well as profound antimicrobial activity towards Pseudomonas aeruginosa, including multiple drug-resistant strains.
Daniel J Paluh, Karina Riddell ... David C Blackburn
Teeth are maintained in two amphibian groups (caecilians and salamanders) but were lost in frogs over 20 times independently, a higher incidence of edentulism than any other major vertebrate group.
During the evolution of amniotes, the transformation of branchial arches coincided with the drastic remodeling of the ancestral extrinsic cardiac arteries, giving rise to novel ventricular coronary arteries that are unique to amniotes.
Homology of vertebrate skull structures should be based on evolutionary continuity and an appreciation of germ layer origins and inductive signaling in the embryonic head.
