Denison, R. H. Feeding mechanisms of Agnatha and early gnathostomes. Am. Zool. 1, 177–181 (1961).
Gans, C. Stages in the origin of vertebrates: analysis by means of scenarios. Biol. Rev. 64, 221–268 (1989).
Google Scholar
Mallatt, J. Ventilation and the origin of jawed vertebrates: a new mouth. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 117, 329–404 (1996).
Janvier, P. Early Vertebrates (Clarendon, 1996).
Janvier, P. in Major Transitions in Vertebrate Evolution (eds Anderson, J. S. & Sues, H.-D.) 57–121 (Indiana Univ. Press, 2007).
Brazeau, M. D. & Friedman, M. The origin and early phylogenetic history of jawed vertebrates. Nature 520, 490–497 (2015).
Google Scholar
Miyashita, T. Fishing for jaws in early vertebrate evolution: a novel hypothesis of mandibular confinement. Biol. Rev. 91, 611–657 (2016).
Google Scholar
Stensiö, E. A. The Devonian and Downtonian vertebrates of Spitsbergen. Part I. Family Cephalaspidae. Skrifter 12, 1–391 (1927).
Stensiö, E. A. The Cephalaspids of Great Britain (Trustees of the British Museum, 1932).
Wängsjö, G. The Downtonian and Devonian vertebrates of Spitsbergen. IX, Morphologic and systematic studies of the Spitsbergen Cephalaspids. Skrifter 97, 1–611 (1952).
Janvier, P. Norselaspis glacialis n.g., n.sp. et les relations phylogénétiques entre les Kiaeraspidiens (Osteostraci) du Dévonien inféerieur du Spitsberg. Palaeovertebrata 11, 19–131 (1981).
Janvier, P. Les Céphalaspides du Spitsberg. Anatomie, Phylogénie et Systématique des Ostéostracés Siluro-Dévoniens. Révision des Ostéostracés de la Formation de Wood Bay (Dévonien inférieur du Spitsberg) (Centre national de la Recherche scientifique, 1985).
Janvier, P., Percy, L. R. & Potter, I. C. The arrangement of the heart chambers and associated blood vessels in the Devonian osteostracan Norselaspis glacialis. A reinterpretation based on recent studies of the circulatory system in lampreys. J. Zool. 223, 567–576 (1991).
Brazeau, M. D. et al. Fossil evidence for a pharyngeal origin of the vertebrate pectoral girdle. Nature 623, 550–554 (2023).
Google Scholar
Sleight, V. A. & Gillis, J. A. Embryonic origin and serial homology of gill arches and paired fins in the skate, Leucoraja erinacea. eLife 9, e60635 (2020).
Google Scholar
Gegenbaur, C. Grundzüge der vergleichenden Anatomie (Wilhelm Engelmann, 1859).
Gai, Z., Donoghue, P. C. J., Zhu, M., Janvier, P. & Stampanoni, M. Fossil jawless fish from China foreshadows early jawed vertebrate anatomy. Nature 476, 324–327 (2011).
Google Scholar
Donoghue, P. C. J., Forey, P. L. & Aldridge, R. J. Conodont affinity and chordate phylogeny. Biol. Rev. 75, 191–251 (2000).
Google Scholar
Janvier, P. The dawn of vertebrates: characters versus common ascent in the rise of current vertebrate phylogenies. Palaeontology 39, 259–287 (1996).
Janvier, P. The phylogeny of the Craniata, with particular reference to the significance of fossil “Agnathans”. J. Vertebr. Paleontol. 1, 121–159 (1981).
Miyashita, T. et al. Hagfish from the Cretaceous Tethys Sea and a reconciliation of the morphological–molecular conflict in early vertebrate phylogeny. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 116, 2146–2151 (2019).
Google Scholar
Miyashita, T., Gess, R. W., Tietjen, K. & Coates, M. I. Non-ammocoete larvae of Palaeozoic stem lampreys. Nature 591, 408–412 (2021).
Google Scholar
Lescroart, F. et al. Clonal analysis reveals a common origin between nonsomite-derived neck muscles and heart myocardium. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA. 112, 1446–1451 (2015).
Google Scholar
Matsuoka, T. et al. Neural crest origins of the neck and shoulder. Nature 436, 347–355 (2005).
Google Scholar
Lours-Calet, C. et al. Evolutionarily conserved morphogenetic movements at the vertebrate head–trunk interface coordinate the transport and assembly of hypopharyngeal structures. Dev. Biol. 390, 231–246 (2014).
Google Scholar
Kuratani, S. Spatial distribution of postotic crest cells defines the head/trunk interface of the vertebrate body: embryological interpretation of peripheral nerve morphology and evolution of the vertebrate head. Anat. Embryol. 195, 1–13 (1996).
Zhu, Y. et al. Endocast and bony labyrinth of a Devonian “placoderm” challenges stem gnathostome phylogeny. Curr. Biol. 31, 1112–1118 (2021).
Google Scholar
Dupret, V., Sanchez, S., Goujet, D. & Ahlberg, P. E. The internal cranial anatomy of Romundina stellina Ørvig, 1975 (Vertebrata, Placodermi, Acanthothoraci) and the origin of jawed vertebrates—anatomical atlas of a primitive gnathostome. PLoS ONE 12, e0171241 (2017).
Google Scholar
Sahney, S. & Wilson, M. V. H. Extrinsic labyrinth infillings imply open endolymphatic ducts in Lower Devonian osteostracans, acanthodians, and putative chondrichthyans. J. Vertebr. Paleontol. 21, 660–669 (2001).
Young, G. C. Number and arrangement of extraocular muscles in primitive gnathostomes: evidence from extinct placoderm fishes. Biol. Lett. 4, 110–114 (2008).
Google Scholar
Janvier, P. Les yeux des Cyclostomes fossiles et le problème de l’origine des Myxinoïdes. Act. Zool. 56, 1–9 (1975).
Suzuki, D. G. et al. Comparative morphology and development of extra-ocular muscles in the lamprey and gnathostomes reveal the ancestral state and developmental patterns of the vertebrate head. Zool. Lett. 2, 10 (2016).
Nishi, S. Beiträge zur vergleichenden Anatomie der Augenmuskulatur. Arb. Anat. Inst. Kaiserlich Japan. Univ. Sendai 7, 65–82 (1922).
Tada, M. N. & Kuratani, S. Evolutionary and developmental understanding of the spinal accessory nerve. Zool. Lett. 1, 4 (2015).
Trinajstic, K. et al. Exceptional preservation of organs in Devonian placoderms from the Gogo Lagerstätte. Science 377, 1311–1314 (2022).
Google Scholar
Higashiyama, H. et al. On the vagal cardiac nerves, with special reference to the early evolution of the head–trunk interface. J. Morphol. 277, 1146–1158 (2016).
Google Scholar
Janvier, P., Arsenault, M. & Desbiens, S. Calcified cartilage in the paired fins of the osteostracan Escuminaspis laticeps (Traquair 1880), from the Late Devonian of Miguasha (Québec, Canada), with a consideration of the early evolution of the pectoral fin endoskeleton in vertebrates. J. Vertebr. Paleontol. 24, 773–779 (2004).
Coates, M. I. The evolution of paired fins. Theory Biosci. 122, 266–287 (2003).
Janvier, P. Les Thyestidiens (Ostéostraci) du Silurien de Saaremaa (Estonie). Première partie: morphologie et anatomie. Ann. Paléontol. 71, 83–147 (1985).
Coates, M. I. The origin of vertebrate limbs. Development 1994, 169–180 (1994).
Kusakabe, R., Kuraku, S. & Kuratani, S. Expression and interaction of muscle-related genes in the lamprey imply the evolutionary scenario for vertebrate skeletal muscle, in association with the acquisition of the neck and fins. Dev. Biol. 350, 217–227 (2011).
Google Scholar
Kuratani, S. Evolutionary developmental studies of cyclostomes and the origin of the vertebrate neck. Dev. Growth Differ. 50, S189–S194 (2008).
Google Scholar
Trinajstic, K. et al. Fossil musculature of the most primitive jawed vertebrates. Science 341, 160–164 (2013).
Google Scholar
Johanson, Z. Placoderm branchial and hypobranchial muscles and origins in jawed vertebrates. J. Vertebr. Paleontol. 23, 735–749 (2003).
Miles, R. S. & Westoll, T. S. The placoderm fish Coccosteus cuspidatus Miller ex Agassiz from the Middle Old Red Sandstone of Scotland. Part I. Descriptive morphology. Trans. R. Soc. Edinb. 67, 373–476 (1968).
Westneat, M. W. in Fish Physiology: Fish Biomechanics (eds. Shadwick, R. E. & Lauder, G. V.) Vol. 23, 29–75 (Academic, 2005).
Anderson, P. S. L., Friedman, M., Brazeau, M. D. & Rayfield, E. J. Initial radiation of jaws demonstrated stability despite faunal and environmental change. Nature 476, 206–209 (2011).
Google Scholar
Sanchez, S. et al. 3D microstructural architecture of muscle attachments in extant and fossil vertebrates revealed by synchrotron microtomography. PLoS ONE 8, e56992 (2013).
Google Scholar
Dearden, R. P. et al. The three-dimensionally articulated oral apparatus of a Devonian heterostracan sheds light on feeding in Palaeozoic jawless fishes. Proc. R. Soc. B 291, 20232258 (2024).
Google Scholar
Gai, Z., Zhu, M., Ahlberg, P. E. & Donoghue, P. C. J. The evolution of the spiracular region from jawless fishes to tetrapods. Front. Ecol. Evol. 10, 887172 (2022).
Blieck, A., Goujet, D. & Janvier, P. The vertebrate stratigraphy of the Lower Devonian (Red Bay Group and Wood Bay Formation) of Spitsbergen. Mod. Geol. 11, 197–217 (1987).
Marone, F. & Stampanoni, M. Regridding reconstruction algorithm for real-time tomographic imaging. J. Synchrotron Radiat. 19, 1029–1037 (2012).
Google Scholar
Paganin, D., Mayo, S. C., Gureyev, T. E., Miller, P. R. & Wilkins, S. W. Simultaneous phase and amplitude extraction from a single defocused image of a homogeneous object. J. Microsc. 206, 33–40 (2002).
Google Scholar
Miyashita, T. et al. Novel assembly of head–trunk interface in sister group of jawed vertebrates. Figshare https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.27905757.v1 (2025).