Jamoytius kerwoodi
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| Jamoytius kerwoodi Fossil range: Silurian |
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Jamoytius kerwoodi was a species of primitive, eel-like jawless fish that lived in the Silurian period.
J. kerwoodi is the earliest known anaspid.[2]. It had long, paired fins running along its body - making it a good swimmer. J. kerwoodi resembled a lamprey, especially with its rounded mouth and elongated body. However, as it had no teeth or teeth-like structures in its mouth, it was not carnivorous like its distant modern-day relative, the lamprey. It was more likely to have been a filter-feeder or a detrius-feeder, possibly in the manner of larval lampreys.
The fish had a cartilaginous skeleton, and a branchial basket resembling the cyclostomes - used to suggest that it was a near-ancestor to that clade.[3] It also possessed weakly mineralised scales.[4]
[edit] Further reading
Long, John A. The Rise of Fishes: 500 Million Years of Evolution Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996. ISBN 0-8018-5438-5
[edit] Links to images
[edit] References
- ^ White, E.I. (1946). "Jamoytius kerwoodi, a new chordate from the Silurian of Lanarkshire [Scotland]". Geological Magazine 83 (2): 89–97.
- ^ New Page 4
- ^ Ritchie, A. (1968). "New evidence on Jamoytius kerwoodi White, an important ostracoderm from the Silurian of Lanarkshire, Scotland". Palaeontology 11: 21–39.
- ^ Today, G. (2003). "Fossils explained 43: Anaspid fishes". Geology Today 19 (3): 111–113. doi:.
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