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Origin and diversification of fish through geologic time
The Devonian period (419–359 Mya), also known as the Age of Fishes, saw the development of early sharks, armoured placoderms and various lobe-finned fish, including the tetrapod transitional species
The evolution of fish began about 530 million years ago during the Cambrian explosion. It was during this time that the early chordates developed the skull and the vertebral column, leading to the first craniates and vertebrates. The first fish lineages belong to the Agnatha, or jawless fish. Early examples include Haikouichthys. During the late Cambrian, eel-like jawless fish called the conodonts, and small mostly armoured fish known as ostracoderms, first appeared. Most jawless fish are now extinct; but the extant lampreys may approximate ancient pre-jawed fish. Lampreys belong to the Cyclostomata, which includes the extant hagfish, and this group may have split early on from other agnathans.
The earliest jawed vertebrates probably developed during the late Ordovician period. They are first represented in the fossil record from the Silurian by two groups of fish: the armoured fish known as placoderms, which evolved from the ostracoderms; and the Acanthodii (or spiny sharks). The jawed fish that are still extant in modern days also appeared during the late Silurian: the Chondrichthyes (or cartilaginous fish) and the Osteichthyes (or bony fish). The bony fish evolved into two separate groups: the Actinopterygii (or ray-finned fish) and Sarcopterygii (which includes the lobe-finned fish).
During the Devonian period a great increase in fish variety occurred, especially among the ostracoderms and placoderms, and also among the lobe-finned fish and early sharks. This has led to the Devonian being known as the age of fishes. It was from the lobe-finned fish that the tetrapods evolved, the four-limbed vertebrates, represented today by amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds. Transitional tetrapods first appeared during the early Devonian, and by the late Devonian the first tetrapods appeared. The diversity of jawed vertebrates may indicate the evolutionary advantage of a jawed mouth; but it is unclear if the advantage of a hinged jaw is greater biting force, improved respiration, or a combination of factors.
Fish, like many other organisms, have been greatly affected by extinction events throughout natural history. The earliest ones, the Ordovician–Silurian extinction events, led to the loss of many species. The Late Devonian extinction led to the extinction of the ostracoderms and placoderms by the end of the Devonian, as well as other fish. The spiny sharks became extinct at the Permian–Triassic extinction event; the conodonts became extinct at the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event. The Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, and the present day Holocene extinction, have also affected fish variety and fish stocks.
The evolutionoffishes took place over a timeline which spans the Cambrian to the Cenozoic, including during that time in particular the Devonian, which...
example of convergent evolution. The use of fins for the propulsion of aquatic animals can be remarkably effective. It has been calculated that some fish can...
the midline of the body. For every type of fin, there are a number offish species in which this particular fin has been lost during evolution (e.g. pelvic...
walking fish, or ambulatory fish, is a fish that is able to travel over land for extended periods of time. Some other modes of non-standard fish locomotion...
acanthodians List of prehistoric cartilaginous fish List of prehistoric bony fish List of sarcopterygians Evolutionoffish Prehistoric life Vertebrate paleontology...
The evolutionof tetrapods began about 400 million years ago in the Devonian Period with the earliest tetrapods evolved from lobe-finned fishes. Tetrapods...
Fish anatomy is the study of the form or morphology offish. It can be contrasted with fish physiology, which is the study of how the component parts...
aquatic salamanders, and caecilians. Ampullae of Lorenzini were lost early in the evolutionof bony fishes and tetrapods. Where electroreception does occur...
cartilaginous fish in the order Chimaeriformes /kɪˈmɛrɪfɔːrmiːz/, known informally as ghost sharks, rat fish, spookfish, or rabbit fish; the last three...
Most bony fishes have two sets of jaws made mainly of bone. The primary oral jaws open and close the mouth, and a second set of pharyngeal jaws are positioned...
and ichthyosaurs, have secondarily acquired a fish-like body shape through convergent evolution. Fishesof the World comments that "it is increasingly widely...
Previously, the evolutionof gills was thought to have occurred through two diverging lines: gills formed from the endoderm, as seen in jawless fish species,...
for "fish lizard" – Ancient Greek: ἰχθύς, romanized: ichthys, lit. 'fish' and Ancient Greek: σαῦρος, romanized: sauros, lit. 'lizard') is an order of large...
"Comparative study of cartilaginous fish divulges insights into the early evolutionof primary, secondary and mucosal lymphoid tissue architecture". Fish & Shellfish...
suggests that many fish genera independently evolved amphibious traits, a process known as convergent evolution. These fish use a range of terrestrial locomotory...
Evolution is the change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes...
diverse forms; the evolutionof plants; the evolutionoffish, arthropods and molluscs; the terrestrial colonization and evolutionof insects, chelicerates...
(1981). "The Evolutionof Parental Care in Fishes, with reference to Darwin's rule of male sexual selection". Environmental Biology ofFishes. 6 (2): 223–251...
explain the evolutionof semelparity because it would be extremely difficult to return to the ocean. A noticeable difference between semelparous fish and iteroparous...
to as Cyclostomata /sɪkloʊˈstɒmətə/, is a group of vertebrates that comprises the living jawless fishes: the lampreys and hagfishes. Both groups have jawless...
to each other, though through convergent evolution they have independently evolved external superficial fish-like body plans adapted to their marine environments...
Convergent evolution is the independent evolutionof similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous...
(/ˈsiːləkænθ/ SEE-lə-kanth) (order Coelacanthiformes) are an ancient group of lobe-finned fish (Sarcopterygii) in the class Actinistia. As sarcopterygians, they...
Human evolution is the evolutionary process within the history of primates that led to the emergence of Homo sapiens as a distinct species of the hominid...
an 'elasmobranch'? The impact of palaeontology in understanding elasmobranch phylogeny and evolution". Journal ofFish Biology. 80 (5): 918–951. Bibcode:2012JFBio...
provided as an overview of and topical guide to evolution: In biology, evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological organisms over...
term Euchondrocephali, is a subclass of cartilaginous fish in the class Chondrichthyes. The earliest fossils are of teeth and come from the Devonian period...
Fish physiology is the scientific study of how the component parts offish function together in the living fish. It can be contrasted with fish anatomy...
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