Scientists had long regarded placoderms as a natural group of their own. Once again, the condition in Brindabellaspis is unlike that of other placoderms, with a sac resembling that of sharks.Īs a sort of placoderm-bony-fish-shark chimera, Brindabellaspis has a profound impact on our understanding of the early evolutionary history of vertebrates. In placoderms, this connection was via a simple tube, whereas sharks have an endolymphatic sac that acts like a reservoir. Most early fishes, however, as well as modern sharks, have an open endolymphatic system that connects to the water outside. Modern bony fishes and land-dwelling vertebrates have a closed endolymphatic system. In fact, if you put the inner ear of Brindablleaspis and that of a human side to side, the upper part looks very similar, and is totally different from previously known placoderms.
This latter condition is exactly what the researchers found inside the skull of Brindabellaspis. In contrast, the inner ear of the ancestors of modern fishes and land-dwelling vertebrates is compact, with much more connection between different components. Most placoderms have distinctive inner ear features, with a very large sac known as a vestibule placed in the center, separating all other components. Much to their surprise, the researchers found previously unseen areas inside the braincase that contain a critical pack of information: This ancient placoderm fish has an inner ear that resembles modern jawed vertebrates, including modern sharks and bony fishes, as well as the distant ancestors of humans. The fossils can even be 3D printed, without causing any harm to the extremely fragile fossils. These techniques use X-rays to look inside and digitally dissect fossils. The morphology of the brain cavity suggested it was closely related to primitive jawless fishes.Ī team of scientists from China, Australia, the UK and Sweden re-investigated these mysterious fossils using cutting-edge MicroCT scanning and digital reconstruction. Most excitingly, the fossil of Brindabellaspis included the braincase, a kind of bony box inside the head that housed the brain and sensory organs. He named the fish Brindabellaspis stensioi, and other people jokingly dubbed it "platypus fish" because of its long beak.
Young found several fossils of a long-beaked fish, a type of placoderm, in the Burrinjuck limestones in Australia. The study was published in Current Biology on Jan 27.īack in 1960s, paleontologist Dr. LU Jing from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Do you have an Applemac and a pineapple? You can be a zoologist too, just like that.New findings on the brain and inner ear cavity of a 400-million-year-old platypus-like fish cast light on the evolution of modern jawed vertebrates, according to a study led by Dr. She bought her PhD from some dodgy-as online uni. "I cannot believe that a reputable organization like the CBC would report on such rubbish. However, Johnathan Kelly, a professor at the University of Melbourne's School of Biosciences, sees things differently. There's something far more sinister going on here." You're tellin' me ol' Charley Darwin invented the 'roo? Bloody hell mate, it's got pockets. "Have you ever wondered why animals in Australia are heaps weird compared to the rest of the world?" she continues as she skols the rest of her pint.Ī local bogan known simply as Chaz, agrees.
It's far too ugh to be a product of evolution." It looks like a beaver and a duck had a root. Lee primarily developed her hypothesis by studying the platypus, a creature she claims "makes no sense from a biological standpoint.
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"Just like the movie Stargate," remarks Lee over her morning pint of VB at a local pub. Lee's research shows that a tear in the space-time continuum allowed extraterrestrial life to enter Australia, turning the land down under into a P.T. Susan Lee's recently published paper, "On The Interdimensional Origins of Australian Species" has sparked debate among peers as it flies directly in the face of the theory of evolution. MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA-Australian zoologist Dr.