A DIVERSE ASSEMBLY OF ANCIENT ARMOURED CRANIATES Ostracoderms
May 17, 2015
A DIVERSE ASSEMBLY OF ANCIENT ARMOURED
CRANIATES
Ostracoderms
TAXONOMYDomain: Eukarya
Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: Chordata
Subphylum: VertebrataSuperclass: Agnatha Class:
Ostracodermi
Characteristics Oldest known craniatesDate back to the middle of Ordovician
until the end of DevonianEntire body was covered with bony
dermal armourBony shield head coveringLacked jawsMost lacked paired finsMostly 2-3 cm long; a few reached up to 2
m longHeterocercal tail
Probably were slow, bottom-dwelling animals
Have median fins located down the midline of their backs
Gills were located in pouchesCartilaginous internal skeletonsA paired of side flaps aid in steeringMouth served to obtain oxygen and
retain bits of food and was permanently open
Gills were used exclusively for respiration
Used muscular gill pouch to pull in small and slow moving prey
Examples of the extinct Ostracoderms
According to E.A. Stensiö – paleontologist at the University of Stockholm
Head skeleton of cephalaspis (one species of an ostracoderm) was more or less flattened denticle-covered body shield with four dorsal apertures Two dorsal apertures accommodated a pair of
upward-staring eyes One accommodated the median or pineal eye Another accommodated a small, anterior
opening that was a single naris from which a nasohypophyseal duct led to an olfactory sac and beyond
eye
Dorsal field
nostril
Pineal foramen
lateral field
The body shield turned along its lateral edges
Beneath the gills the body covering were tile like scales
A small mouth that is lined by gills opens to the oropharyngeal chamber is found between the anterior edge of the shield and the scales
Curved row external gill slits extends from the corners of the mouth to the caudal margin of the head shield
Head contained an endoskeleton of endochondral bone and considerable cartilage
Acanthodians
Acanthodians?
Class of Extinct speciesShare features with Bony and
Cartilaginous fishesIn form they resemble sharks, but their
epidermis was covered by tiny rhomboid platelets like the scales of holosteans.Oldest jawed fishes
Holosteans – Bony fishes (Gars, Bowfins)
Acanthodians
Like Ostracoderms, their head and body were protected by a dermal armor of bony plates and scales
Acanthodians
Acanthodians did have cartilaginous skeletons
But their fins are bony based with a dentine spine
Most Acanthodians have heterocercal caudal fins.
Silurian to Permian Period.Marine/Freshwater
-Devonian Period: Freshwater species became dominant
Diplacanthus longispinus
Orders
Climatiiformes had shoulder armor and many small sharp spines
Ischnacanthiformes Had teeth fused to the jaw
Acanthodiformes filter feeders, with no teeth in the jaw, but long gill
rakers.
Spiny Sharks they were superficially shark-shaped, with a
streamlined body, paired fins, and a strongly upturned tail; stout bony spines supported all the fins except the tail - hence, "spiny sharks".
However, they were not sharks.
Skeleton consisted of bone and cartilage.They had a large operculum.
Brief History
Despite being called "spiny sharks," acanthodians predate sharks. They evolved in the sea at the beginning of the Silurian Period, some 50 million years before the first sharks appeared.
Later the acanthodians colonized fresh waters, and thrived in the rivers and lakes during the Devonian Period.
But the first bony fishes were already showing their potential to dominate the waters of the world, and their competition proved too much for the spiny sharks, which died out in Permian times (approximately 250 MYA).
Many paleonthologists consider that the acanthodians were close to the ancestors of the bony fishes. Although their interior skeletons were made of cartilage, a bonelike material had developed in the skins of these fishes, in the form of closely fitting scales. Some scales were greatly enlarged and formed a bony covering on top of the head and over the lower shoulder girdle. Others developed a bony flap over the gill openings analogous to the operculum in later bony fishes.
PLACODERMS
TAXONOMYDomain: Eukarya
Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: Chordata
Subphylum: VertebrataClass: Placodermi
Order: Arthrodira
Order AntiarchiOrder RhenanidaOrder
PetalichthyidaOrder
AcanthothoraciOrder
Ptyctodontida
Placoderms
Greek word “tablet & skin” referring to their heavy armoured bony plates
an extinct class of armored fishesPlacoderms evolved from agnathan (jawless) fishes
Abundant in the fresh waters of the Devonian era
First to evolve true jawsFirst animals to exhibit internalize egg fertilization
Distinct Characteristics
layer of segmented armor across the head and thorax
2 paired fins Depending on species, the remainder of the body would be scaled or naked.
sharpened points of bone which protrude from the head to grind their food.
Order Arthrodira
Dunkleosteus sp.
Order Arthrodira
Best known placodermsA heavy dermal shield covered the
head and gill region and another covered much of the trunk
2 shield meet in a movable jointRemainder of the body: covered
with smaller bony scales or,in late species, was naked.
2 pairs upper jaw tooth plates
shark-like bodiesSome very large – e.g. Dunkleosteus
and Gorgonichthys to 6 - 9 m
The gigantic superpreditor Dunkleosteus terrelli
Coccosteus sp.
Gorgonichthys sp.
Reconstruction of placoderm Gorgonichthys, Cleveland Shale - copyright John Long, Museum Victoria
Gorgonichthys sp.
Order AntiarchiWere small
placoderms reach a length of 15-20 feet but majority were shorter
Exhibit atypical pectoral fins & dorsal eyes
Have flattened ventral surface
Suggested to be bottom feeders
Have eyes on top of their heads
Pectoral fins are enclosed in bony appendages
Bothriolepis Canadensis
Order Rhenanida
Characteristics of Rhenanids:reduction of the thoracic
armour Body is covered by small
tesserae (small square of stones)
dorso-ventrally flattened shape
enlarged pectoral fins known from marine
environments and probably pursued a ray-like benthic lifestyle
Rhenanida, Gemuendina sp.
Order PetalichthyidaClosely related to
arthrodiresRarely exceeds a meterThey are freshwater
bottom dwellersUnlike the Arthrodires,
they are bottom-feeding fish
Flattened fish with short trunk and long, spine-like plates.
The nostrils and the anterior part of the head shield around the orbits, is covered by a number of tiny scales, as is the long trunk.
Lunaspis sp.
Order Acanthothoraci
Generalized by a stout spine emanating from the median dorsal plate
Some acanthothoracids are similar to rays, expanded pectoral fins and flattened appearance
Long head shields, very shortened trunk
With eyes and nares pointing upwards, suggesting a bottom dweller
Brindabellaspis stensioi
Order Ptyctodontida have enlongate
bodies whip-like tails reduced head thoracic armorExhibits sexual
dimorphism males of one
ptyctodontid, Rhamphodopis, have clasper-like intromittent organs similar to those found sharks and their kins
Rhamphodopis
SUMMARYOrder Arthrodira (Arthrodires)– jointed neck–movable joint between the head and the thoracic
bodyOrder Antiarchi (Antiarchs)– pectoral fins are enclosed in bony tubes (pectoral
appendages)Order Rhenanida(Rhenanids) – enlarged pectoral fins – body covered by unfused scalesOrder Petalichthyida (Petalichthyids)– typified by their splayed (spread out) finsOrder Acanthothoraci – spiny trunk Order Ptyctodontida– some species exhibit sexual dimorphism– has beak-like mouth
Differences
Ostracoderms Acanthodians Placoderms
-oldest known vertebrate-jawless fishes-lacked paired fins
-oldest jawed fishes-their skeleton consist of bone and cartilage
-First animals to exhibit internalize egg fertilization-armored fishes with jaws