The study of early vertebrates provides an essential window into the evolutionary processes that shaped modern biodiversity. Fossil discoveries spanning the Silurian to Devonian periods reveal a ...

Did you know that your knees, hips, and fingers all rely on the same type of joint that evolved hundreds of millions of years ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Let's face it. It's easy to take for granted that mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish - vertebrates just like people - have a face. But it has not always been the case ...

The lower jaw - a vital component of the vertebrate feeding apparatus - has been a key element in their ecological experimentation and adaptation. Looking ahead, the team plans to delve deeper into ...

Researchers at University of Tsukuba and their collaborators have conducted a comprehensive analysis of the olfactory ...

The discovery of new cynodont fossils from southern Brazil by a team of palaeontologists has led to a significant breakthrough in understanding the evolution of mammals. These fossils, belonging to ...

Synovial joints, the lubricated cavity that lets the bones in our shoulders, knees, and elbows slide smoothly against each other, provide freedom of movement to all vertebrates. Scientists have known ...

Researchers report February 15 in the journal Cell that ancient viruses may be to thank for myelin—and, by extension, our large, complex brains. The team found that a retrovirus-derived genetic ...

The sea lamprey, a 500-million-year-old animal with a sharp-toothed suction cup for a mouth, is the thing of nightmares. A new study from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research discovered that the ...

The sympathetic nervous system was thought to have evolved with jawed vertebrates. But lampreys—jawless, parasitic fish that suck out the blood of their hosts—have a simple one, per recent research.