Climatic and environmental conditions play a pivotal role in the evolution of the biosphere,
serving as the primary natural factors influencing biological evolution and the development …

This paper addresses a recent claim by Miyashita and co-authors that the filter-feeding larval
lamprey is a new evolutionary addition to the lamprey life-cycle and does not provide …

The fossil record suggests that chordates might have been minor components of marine
ecosystems during the first major diversification of animal life in the Cambrian. Vertebrates …

Systematic extinctions can leave major morphological gaps between living crown‐group
clades. Such morphological gaps would be perceived, from a neontological point of view, as …

The cranial muscle is a critical component in the vertebrate head for a predatory lifestyle.
However, its evolutionary origin and possible segmental nature during embryogenesis have …

Tian et al.(Research Articles, 8 July 2022, abm2708) hypothesized that yunnanozoans are
stem-group vertebrates on the basis of “cellular cartilage”,“fibrillin microfibers”, and …

Abstract Background The deep (> 200 m) ocean floor is often considered to be a refugium of
biodiversity; many benthic marine animals appear to share ancient common ancestry with …

Our understanding of the evolutionary origin of Chordata, one of the most disparate and
ecologically significant animal phyla, is hindered by a lack of unambiguous stem-group …

The vertebrate pharynx is a key embryonic structure with crucial importance for the
metameric organization of the head and face. The pharynx is primarily built upon …

He et al. dispute our anatomical interpretations on the structures of cellular chambers and
microfibrils in yunnanozoan branchial arches and put forward alternative interpretations on …