More than 400 million years ago, these 5 kinds of fish cleared the fog of the key evolution of "from fish to man" - Teller Report Teller Report

　　Including humans, 99.8% of the extant vertebrates on earth have jaws (upper jaw and lower jaw), which are collectively referred to as jawed vertebrates or jaws.

The emergence and rise of jaws is one of the most critical leaps in the evolution history of vertebrates from fish to man. Many important organs and body configurations of humans can be traced back to the beginning of the evolution of jaws.

　　When, where, and how did this most critical jumping link take place?

It has been shrouded in fog due to the lack of fossil evidence.

Previously, jaws did not have a relatively complete fossil record until the late Silurian (about 444 million to 419 million years ago) about 425 million years ago, and the molecular clock inferred that the origin of jaws was no later than 450 million years. In the late Ordovician period (about 485 million to 444 million years ago), there was a huge gap in its early evolution that lasted about 30 million years and spanned the entire Silurian period. "A "ghost branch" of evolutionary probing.

　　The team of Academician Zhu Min from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences conducted a detailed analysis and in-depth study of five ancient fish fossils discovered for the first time in the early Silurian strata of Chongqing, Guizhou and other places about 440 million years ago. It is an important gap in the fossil record of jaws in the early Silurian, and for the first time provides definite evidence for the rise of jaws and the earliest radiation differentiation.

　　A set of four papers, a major breakthrough in the research on "from fish to man", completed by Chinese scientists, was published online in the internationally renowned academic journal "Nature" on the night of September 28, Beijing time, and was published on the cover on the 29th. The article form is published concurrently.

　　On September 28, Academician Zhu Min and his team, Researcher Lu Jing and Associate Researcher Zhu You'an, were interviewed by a reporter from China News Agency in Beijing.

Responsible editor: [He Sanli]