Wednesday, September 3, 2025
Science
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Scienmag
No Result
View All Result
Home Science News Earth Science

3D mouth of an ancient jawless fish suggests they were filter-feeders, not scavengers or hunters

April 18, 2024
in Earth Science
Reading Time: 5 mins read
0
68
SHARES
622
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
ADVERTISEMENT

Early jawless fish were likely to have used bony projections surrounding their mouths to modify the mouth’s shape while they collected food. 

Early jawless fish were likely to have used bony projections surrounding their mouths to modify the mouth’s shape while they collected food. 

Experts led by the University of Birmingham have used CT scanning techniques to build up the first 3D pictures of these creatures, which are some of the earliest vertebrates (animals with backbones) in which the mouth is fossilised. Their aim was to answer questions about feeding in early vertebrates without jaws in the early Devonian epoch – sometimes called the Age of Fishes – around 400 million years ago. 

Feeding behaviours are commonly used by scientists to help piece together early evolution of vertebrates, and different jaw shapes and constructions can suggest a broad range of feeding strategies. In the absence of jaws, many competing theories have been developed ranging from biting and slicing, to filtering food from sediment or water.  

In a new study, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, an international team of palaeontologists have been able to visualise the mouth parts of one of these jawless fish, called Rhinopteraspis dunensis, in detail. The images revealed the structure and arrangement of finger-like bones that project from the lower ‘lip’ of the animal’s mouth, which the scientists believe acted to control the mouth’s size and shape as it captured food particles from surrounding water. 

Senior author and project lead Dr Ivan Sansom said: “The application of CT scanning techniques to the study of fossil fish is revealing so much new information about these ancient vertebrates and giving us the opportunity to study precious and unique specimens without destructive investigation.”  

Lead author Dr Richard Dearden explained: “In this case, these methods have allowed us to fit all of the small bones of this animal’s mouth together, and try and understand how it fed from this integrated system rather than by using isolated bones. Instead of a steady trend towards ‘active food acquisition’ – scavenging or hunting – we see a real diversity and range of feeding behaviours among our earliest  vertebrate relatives.”  

The reconstruction produced by the team shows that the bony plates around the mouth would have had limited movement, making it unlikely that the animals were hunters capable of ‘biting’. In combination with an elongated snout, they would also have found it difficult to scoop and filter sediment directly from the bottom of the sea. However these plates would have allowed it to control opening of the mouth, and perhaps strain food from water in a way also used by animals such as flamingos or oysters. 

The findings offer a new perspective on theories of vertebrate evolution, since current hypotheses argue that long term evolutionary trends move from passive food consumption to increasingly predatory behaviour. In contrast, the work outlined in this paper suggests that in fact, early vertebrates had a broad range of different feeding behaviours long before jawed animals started to appear. 

The study was funded by the Leverhulme Trust and is part of a collaborative project between the University of Birmingham, the Natural History Museum, and the University of Bristol, in the UK, and Naturalis Biodiversity Centre, in the Netherlands. 

Early jawless fish were likely to have used bony projections surrounding their mouths to modify the mouth’s shape while they collected food. 

Experts led by the University of Birmingham have used CT scanning techniques to build up the first 3D pictures of these creatures, which are some of the earliest vertebrates (animals with backbones) in which the mouth is fossilised. Their aim was to answer questions about feeding in early vertebrates without jaws in the early Devonian epoch – sometimes called the Age of Fishes – around 400 million years ago. 

Feeding behaviours are commonly used by scientists to help piece together early evolution of vertebrates, and different jaw shapes and constructions can suggest a broad range of feeding strategies. In the absence of jaws, many competing theories have been developed ranging from biting and slicing, to filtering food from sediment or water.  

In a new study, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, an international team of palaeontologists have been able to visualise the mouth parts of one of these jawless fish, called Rhinopteraspis dunensis, in detail. The images revealed the structure and arrangement of finger-like bones that project from the lower ‘lip’ of the animal’s mouth, which the scientists believe acted to control the mouth’s size and shape as it captured food particles from surrounding water. 

Senior author and project lead Dr Ivan Sansom said: “The application of CT scanning techniques to the study of fossil fish is revealing so much new information about these ancient vertebrates and giving us the opportunity to study precious and unique specimens without destructive investigation.”  

Lead author Dr Richard Dearden explained: “In this case, these methods have allowed us to fit all of the small bones of this animal’s mouth together, and try and understand how it fed from this integrated system rather than by using isolated bones. Instead of a steady trend towards ‘active food acquisition’ – scavenging or hunting – we see a real diversity and range of feeding behaviours among our earliest  vertebrate relatives.”  

The reconstruction produced by the team shows that the bony plates around the mouth would have had limited movement, making it unlikely that the animals were hunters capable of ‘biting’. In combination with an elongated snout, they would also have found it difficult to scoop and filter sediment directly from the bottom of the sea. However these plates would have allowed it to control opening of the mouth, and perhaps strain food from water in a way also used by animals such as flamingos or oysters. 

The findings offer a new perspective on theories of vertebrate evolution, since current hypotheses argue that long term evolutionary trends move from passive food consumption to increasingly predatory behaviour. In contrast, the work outlined in this paper suggests that in fact, early vertebrates had a broad range of different feeding behaviours long before jawed animals started to appear. 

The study was funded by the Leverhulme Trust and is part of a collaborative project between the University of Birmingham, the Natural History Museum, and the University of Bristol, in the UK, and Naturalis Biodiversity Centre, in the Netherlands. 

 



Journal

Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences

DOI

10.1098/rspb.2023.2258

Method of Research

Imaging analysis

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

The three-dimensionally articulated oral apparatus of a Devonian heterostracan sheds light on feeding in Palaeozoic jawless fishes

Article Publication Date

27-Mar-2024

Share27Tweet17
Previous Post

A BiCIKL ride to the Empowering Biodiversity Research conference for a report on a 3-year endeavor towards FAIR biodiversity data

Next Post

New report ‘braids’ Indigenous and Western knowledge for forest adaptation strategies against climate change

Related Posts

Earth Science

N-Nitrosamines in Korean Water: Exposure Risk Insights

September 3, 2025
blank
Earth Science

Impact of Gabapentin, Valsartan, and Codeine on Catfish

September 3, 2025
blank
Earth Science

Evaluating Water Quality and Health Risks in Damodar River

September 2, 2025
blank
Earth Science

Temperature and Humidity Impact Graphene’s Insect Control

September 2, 2025
blank
Earth Science

Gender Disparities in Rural China’s Energy Use

September 2, 2025
blank
Earth Science

Innovative Methods for Climate Trend Detection and Evaluation

September 2, 2025
Next Post
Wenatchee National Forest

New report ‘braids’ Indigenous and Western knowledge for forest adaptation strategies against climate change

  • Mothers who receive childcare support from maternal grandparents show more parental warmth, finds NTU Singapore study

    Mothers who receive childcare support from maternal grandparents show more parental warmth, finds NTU Singapore study

    27543 shares
    Share 11014 Tweet 6884
  • University of Seville Breaks 120-Year-Old Mystery, Revises a Key Einstein Concept

    957 shares
    Share 383 Tweet 239
  • Bee body mass, pathogens and local climate influence heat tolerance

    643 shares
    Share 257 Tweet 161
  • Researchers record first-ever images and data of a shark experiencing a boat strike

    510 shares
    Share 204 Tweet 128
  • Warm seawater speeding up melting of ‘Doomsday Glacier,’ scientists warn

    313 shares
    Share 125 Tweet 78
Science

Embark on a thrilling journey of discovery with Scienmag.com—your ultimate source for cutting-edge breakthroughs. Immerse yourself in a world where curiosity knows no limits and tomorrow’s possibilities become today’s reality!

RECENT NEWS

  • N-Nitrosamines in Korean Water: Exposure Risk Insights
  • Impact of Gabapentin, Valsartan, and Codeine on Catfish
  • Uncovering Challenges in Social Bot Detection
  • Transforming Hawthorn Seed Waste into Diabetes Solutions

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Athmospheric
  • Biology
  • Blog
  • Bussines
  • Cancer
  • Chemistry
  • Climate
  • Earth Science
  • Marine
  • Mathematics
  • Medicine
  • Pediatry
  • Policy
  • Psychology & Psychiatry
  • Science Education
  • Social Science
  • Space
  • Technology and Engineering

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Success! An email was just sent to confirm your subscription. Please find the email now and click 'Confirm Follow' to start subscribing.

Join 5,183 other subscribers

© 2025 Scienmag - Science Magazine

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US

© 2025 Scienmag - Science Magazine