The origin of jaws revealed by exceptional articulated fossils

The origin of jaws and teeth more than 420 million years ago is considered a key evolutionary innovation underpinning the diversity of modern vertebrates (animals with backbones). However, we lack a clear understanding of the origins of jaws and jawed vertebrates due to the extreme rarity of well-preserved and articulated fossils of the group’s oldest representatives. In this project, we will use synchrotron x-ray microtomography to reveal the anatomy of a series of unusually complete early jawed vertebrate fossils that preserve key anatomy for resolving this puzzle. We will use these results to generate three-dimensional virtual anatomical reconstructions, helping to fill a major gap in the origin of this important group. These data will allow us to test hypotheses about the origins of jaws and teeth, as well as testing theories about the wider evolution of the oldest jawed vertebrates.