The oldest gnathostome teeth

Plamen S. Andreev, Ivan J. Sansom, Qiang Li, Wenjin Zhao, Jianhua Wang, Chun-Chieh Wang, Lijian Peng, Liantao Jia, Tuo Qiao and Min Zhu ()
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Plamen S. Andreev: Qujing Normal University
Ivan J. Sansom: University of Birmingham
Qiang Li: Qujing Normal University
Wenjin Zhao: Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
Jianhua Wang: Qujing Normal University
Chun-Chieh Wang: National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center
Lijian Peng: Qujing Normal University
Liantao Jia: Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
Tuo Qiao: Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
Min Zhu: Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)

Nature, 2022, vol. 609, issue 7929, 964-968

Abstract: Abstract Mandibular teeth and dentitions are features of jawed vertebrates that were first acquired by the Palaeozoic ancestors1–3 of living chondrichthyans and osteichthyans. The fossil record currently points to the latter part of the Silurian period4–7 (around 425 million years ago) as a minimum date for the appearance of gnathostome teeth and to the evolution of growth and replacement mechanisms of mandibular dentitions in the subsequent Devonian period2,8–10. Here we provide, to our knowledge, the earliest direct evidence for jawed vertebrates by describing Qianodus duplicis, a new genus and species of an early Silurian gnathostome based on isolated tooth whorls from Guizhou province, China. The whorls possess non-shedding teeth arranged in a pair of rows that demonstrate a number of features found in modern gnathostome groups. These include lingual addition of teeth in offset rows and maintenance of this patterning throughout whorl development. Our data extend the record of toothed gnathostomes by 14 million years from the late Silurian into the early Silurian (around 439 million years ago) and are important for documenting the initial diversification of vertebrates. Our analyses add to mounting fossil evidence that supports an earlier emergence of jawed vertebrates as part of the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event (approximately 485–445 million years ago).

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05166-2

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