A lamprey from the Devonian period of South Africa

Robert W. Gess (), Michael I. Coates and Bruce S. Rubidge
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Robert W. Gess: University of Witwatersrand
Michael I. Coates: University of Chicago
Bruce S. Rubidge: University of Witwatersrand

Nature, 2006, vol. 443, issue 7114, 981-984

Abstract: Out of the shadows Lampreys and hagfish are the only remaining jawless vertebrates and are commonly used as surrogate ancestors for comparative research on living jawed vertebrates. Until recently little was known of the evolutionary history of lampreys as the only known fossils were enigmatic examples from the Carboniferous period, around 300 million years ago. Then earlier this year Nature published a report of a fine specimen from the Cretaceous of China that looked very close to modern forms. This is now joined by a well preserved fossil from the Devonian of South Africa, which at about 360 million years old is the oldest known lamprey. It looks slightly different from modern lampreys, but is the same in essentials and differs from the various now-extinct armoured fishes with which it shared the Devonian world.

Date: 2006
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DOI: 10.1038/nature05150

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