Abstract
Anatolepis was initially described as the dermal armour of a heterostracan agnathan, an interpretation which has subsequently engendered considerable debate. Criticism of a vertebrate affinity has centred on the ornament of the sclerites, which has been said to fall outside the known range of vertebrate morphology, and the histology of the hard tissues which has been considered as either incompatible with a vertebrate affinity or inadequately known for positive interpretation. New work on the morphology and histology of large collections of Anatolepis ranging in age from Late Cambrian to Early-Middle Ordovician has demonstrated that the taxon is unequivocally vertebrate and represents the oldest known agnathan.
| Original language | French |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 61-63 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Journal | Geobios |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue number | SUPPL. 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1995 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Financial support for this work from NERC Research Grant GR3/8543 is gratefully acknowledged. Richard Fortey (Natural History Museum, London) and Dr John Repetski (United States Geological Survey, Reston, VA) kindly made available their collections of specimens, residues and unprocessed samples. Helpful discussion and comments on the text were given by Moya Smith (UMDS Guy's Hospital). Nomarski and SE photomicrography was carried out at UMDS Guy's Hospital, London.
Keywords
- Agnatha
- Cambrian
- Histology
- Ordovician
- Vertebrata
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Stratigraphy
- Space and Planetary Science