The upside to the conditions is that there will be huge amounts of exposure and access to rocks is guaranteed. They are really important for understanding the assembly of the early vertebrate skeleton and were the dominant fishes in early vertebrate faunas (Silurian to early Devonian). Instead, many of the different ostracoderm groups had a boney ‘dermoskeleton’ which encased their bodies from the outside. As their name suggests they lacked the classic vertebrate feature of a jaw and many other diagnostic characteristics, such as paired fins and a boney internal skeleton. Pictured is Obtusacanthus, an acanthodian from the earliest Devonian of Canada.Īs well as looking for jawed vertebrates we are also on the hunt for ostracoderms, which are boney, jawless fishes. More recently, it has been suggested that acanthodians represent a grade more closely related to living sharks and rays. It has also been suggested that some acanthodians might be more closely related to the boney fishes. Historically, it was though they represent a true group that diversified close to the origin of jawed vertebrates. Their evolutionary relationships have been the subject of much debate. What is the current lay of the research landscape? What we already know? and what are we aiming to find out about the early evolution of the jawed vertebrates, a group to which we ourselves belong?Īcanthodians, also known as ‘spiny sharks’, are a group of early jawed vertebrates known from the Silurian to Devonian periods, approximately 440 – 360 million years ago. In this first episode, we contextualise why we’re going into the field. This expedition is a unique opportunity to share with you a single research project from start to finish, rather than just the results. You will experience all the highs of discovering new and exciting fossils and the lows of when we’ve just all had enough. You will join us as we discuss the science, prepare for the trip, arrive in the field, go out digging and finally wrap things up. It’s going to be a gruelling trip, but hopefully one that will give you an insight into what life is like in the field. In all, this trip will last around 6 weeks, during which time we’ll have no internet, electricity, running water or even any toilets. I’m being flown out as the Palaeozoic arthropod “expert” of the team and I’ll be there to deal with all the eurypterids and phyllocaridids we come across, along as documenting the whole process for outreach and hopefully your enjoyment. Welcome to this special series of podcasts relating to a fieldtrip that I have been invited on by Dr Martin Brazeau of Imperial College London.
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